The Perfect Wife
by slytherin-nette
Summary: TPG Sequel: As the Mistress of the Malfoy family and the Ministry’s top Unspeakable, Jaimee “Harry” Potter discovers the time management, stealth, sanity and morning sickness necessary to become the perfect wife. Hilarity ensues! DM/femHP. COMPLETED!
1. Prologue

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Full Summary: **Sequel to '**The Perfect Girl**'. As the new mistress of England's most prestigious wizarding family and the Ministry of Magic's top undercover Auror, Jaimee "Harry" Potter quickly discovers the importance of the time management, stealth, sanity and 'morning sickness' necessary to become the perfect Malfoy wife. Hilarity ensues! DM/femHP. (Post-Hogwarts).

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/OC, BZ/HG, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenesand **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Hello again everyone! As promised, this is the well-anticipated sequel to my other story, **The Perfect Girl**. If you haven't read that one yet, I suggest reading it first before this one because otherwise, you **will** be lost. (**Warning:** This chapter has light mentions of a prostitution scam.) Enjoy the first chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Prologue**

"Remind me again why _I'm _the one who's supposed to distract all those drunken rich bastards in there…?!" Jaimee – formerly Harry – Potter _Malfoy_ asked in frustration as Vincent Ashford handed her a small vial of clear blue liquid potion. The Head Unspeakable smirked and watched as the Malfoy Mistress grumbled and swallowed the glamour potion in one gulp.

"Because you're the _only_ woman in the department who is remotely _hot _enough to pull off being a _veela_ and you're probably the only woman who knows from _personal experience _how a man's mind works." He answered her bluntly, smirking when Harry made a face and set the empty potion vial back down on the table in front of them.

She and Ashford were currently whispering behind the large performance stage of an illegal brothel situated in Siberia – within which they had been given an undercover assignment by the Ministry of Magic. She, Byron Malfoy and Spencer Addison had been assigned to track down the wizard owner of the said brothel which was suspected of abducting _veelas_ and using either the imperius curse or illegal potions to sell them off to rich clients.

Although the women entertainers being sold off inside were undoubtedly exquisitely beautiful enough to be veela, the Ministry wasn't certain enough to confirm this since the hair and appearances of these women had been altered by several charms and potions by the brothel's managers.

It was therefore their job to confirm this allegation.

At the moment, Spencer _and _Byron were undercover and mingling among the other customers inside as English businessmen who were interested in hiring a date or two for the night – much to both gay men's great reluctance. On the other hand, Harry had been assigned the equally _degrading_ role of posing as one of the women being sold off and was now grumbling as she wrestled herself into one of the brothel's skimpy dancing costumes.

Vincent smirked as he watched his top Unspeakable slipping herself into a very short and very daring, frilly pink dress that showed off a _lot_ of her long, slim legs and slender figure. The neckline dipped low along her neck and provided a very generous view of her breasts. With the fluffy pink and white bunny ears she was now adding onto her head, Vincent couldn't prevent the amused laugh that had escaped his lips.

"Just wait until your husband sees you in _that._ Malfoy will kill you." He smirked at the thought. At his words, Jaimee's eyes flashed and she glared warningly at him.

"Draco is _not _going to find out about this mission because _no one _is going to tell him." She warned, wincing as the effects of the potion she had swallowed finally began to take effect. Her long, black hair suddenly began transforming into a sunny, bouncy golden blonde while her eyes brightened into a clear shade of sky blue.

Grumbling, she took her wand from Ashford's offered hand, lifted her lacy skirts and attached it to the garter tied around her thigh. Then, with a cringe, she took her silver wedding band from her ring finger and transferred it quickly to her forefinger instead.

"I look like a skanky doll." She complained in a low hiss as Ashford finally checked his synchronized watch and gestured for her to climb up along the stairs to the stage with the other veela dancers. He shook his head and signaled to another male Unspeakable waiting by the backstage entrance – who upon seeing this immediately went to alert Byron and Spencer.

Vincent then turned back to her and gave her a firm glare. "Remember…You are to _earn _a 'private' invitation to the bedroom of this brothel's owner – Armando Petrovski. The minute you do, signal us and we'll follow behind you to activate the listening wards. Understand?!" He waited until she nodded with an aggravated scowl.

He offered her one last smirk of acknowledgment. "Think of it this way, Potter…You pull this off well and distract all those rich bastards well enough, they'd be so busy drooling all over you that it'll be like taking candy from a baby." He drawled but this did nothing to ease Harry's irritation.

"I did not take _two _years of your bloody training program to be _eye_ _bait_ and dance around in a ridiculous, pink frilly dress, Ashford."

He shrugged and gave her another handsome grin. "The worst that could happen is that they find out you're _Harry Potter_ and they try to kill you." She grunted and returned his words with a grim, sardonic smile.

"Story of my life."

She had to bite back a scream of frustration when her boss merely chuckled and gave her a conspiratorial wink of good luck. He drank a similar glamour potion and ran back off to where the other Unspeakables had gathered by the bar, leaving Harry staring after him in dismay.

_At least no one here recognizes who I am._

* * *

Draco Malfoy, Head of the aristocratic Malfoy family, bit back a growl of frustrated boredom when the international clients and business partners of MMC seated in front of him began whistling and hooting loudly. The small poled stage right in front of them lit up to signal the start of the show.

_I can't believe I'm in bloody brothel! In Siberia! I could be at home right now shagging Harry instead of staring at these idiots drooling over these smelly whores! _He thought irritably, running a hand through his sleek, blonde hair as he inspected the dark bar around them in disgust.

President and CEO of Malfoy Multinational Conglomerates (MMC) at the young age of 20, Draco had been scheduled to meet up with some of their company's best international partners that afternoon. He had originally planned to entertain them around Paris so that they could discuss future business models and strategies to be undertaken that year.

Unfortunately, his halfway drunk comrades had insisted upon 'enjoying themselves' first before talking business and had forced Draco to come along with them to this supposedly 'elite and private' bar hidden along the mountains of Siberia for the night. Since then, the Malfoy Head had been counting the minutes he had spent trying to hear his clients' disgusting comments and perverted laughter above the loud, booming beats of the raunchy music echoing around them.

He somehow suspected that his clients _knew _this bar wasn't actually a bar in itself but was a _brothel_ in disguise but he didn't voice his opinion on the matter. He knew it wouldn't be good to create tension between himself and his business relations.

As he looked around the bar again, however, and glanced at the appearances of the numerous waitresses and entertainers circling the area to cater to the customers, he couldn't help feeling that something was _off._

Two years of Unspeakable training in Romania had taught him at least that.

The male entertainers around the area looked almost effeminate and the females held some veela characteristics in their features – along with the fact that their eyes were constantly disoriented and hazy, almost as though they were under some kind of allure or controlling spell.

Draco was broken out of his musings when one of his clients – a Russian businessman with a moustache by the name of Benedict Federov – turned to him and gave him a suggestive leer. "So…Malfoy…I'll bet you're enjoying yourself tonight, huh? It isn't every night you get to go to a place like this!" He exclaimed drunkenly, causing Draco to cringe when he caught a whiff of his breath.

Forcing a smirk, Draco merely raised a single eyebrow. "Well, I'll admit that this place _is _certainly one that I've never expected to find myself in…" He drawled carefully, taking a small sip of his drink before wincing in disgust and setting it back down on the table.

Benedict scoffed and sniggered to himself, taking a long swig of his beer. "I _love_ it here! It gives me a place to get away from my ugly, _frigid_ and overly controlling _freak_ of a wife! Ugh…Who invented marriage anyway?! It's nothing but a prison and a hell-hole for us men, eh?!" He nudged Draco sharply, causing the former Slytherin to sneer at him in growing disgust.

"I beg to disagree, Federov…"

"Nonsense!" Benedict sniggered and gestured to his other associates around the table, drawing their attention to their conversation. "Do you mean to tell me, Malfoy…That you're not _in the least_ glad to be here with us right now? _Free_ from the confining cages of your marriage and from the need to clog your ears from your wife's constant nagging?" His words caused the other men around them to snigger to themselves as though in agreement of a private joke.

Draco merely raised an eyebrow, clearly not amused. "Evidently you haven't met my wife yet, Federov. I'd much rather be with her right now than with all these dirty, skanky women—"

"Oh lighten up, Malfoy! It's nice to try _new _flavors once in awhile! It's not like your wife is here anyway and _we _certainly won't tell her if you decide to hook up with one of these lovely ladies or so…" One of his Italian clients, Alphonse Ricci, spoke up with a grin just as a red-haired waitress passed by him. Smirking, he grabbed her arse and pulled her easily to sit on his lap.

"Come here, duchess…How about a lap dance?" He murmured drunkenly and the woman automatically straddled him and did as she was told. Draco saw this and blinked in shock before turning around to inspect his surroundings suspiciously once more.

_Something 'definitely' doesn't feel right._

He noticed three dark-haired, skulking gentlemen seated at a single table in one of the far, dark corners of the room near the stage. Squinting at them, he met the suspiciously familiar golden eyes of one – who immediately paled upon seeing him there, smiled back nervously and hastily snapped his head back as though in sheepish panic.

_Do I 'know' those three…? _Draco thought to himself with narrowed eyes. He would have stood up and walked over to them in inspection when the crowd of seated businessmen around them suddenly erupted into a chorus of drunken yelling and cheering.

Blinking in slight confusion, Draco turned to Benedict and saw the other man leaning back in his seat with excitement growing in his eyes. "Ahh! This is my favorite part of the night! The gorgeous pole-dancers! I _love_ those girls!" He whispered to him, causing Draco to cringe again as he turned his eyes to the center of the stage.

The room around them darkened until only a spotlight was left on each of the three scantily dressed figures who had walked up to the very front of the stage behind three thin poles. As all three women smiled seductively at the crowd of men and winked before assuming their dancing positions, Draco swallowed and shook his head in dismay.

_Merlin, Harry is going to kill me…_ He thought to himself, his eyes inspecting each of three women situated on the stage. The music hadn't started yet and all of them were giggling and waving at the hooting men with flirtatious smiles, allowing Draco to inspect each one of their faces.

The one on the far left was brunette and was wearing a low cut, violet dress while the one on the far right had dark, red hair and was wearing a two-piece black lingerie dress.

It was the golden-blonde in the very middle, however, who had caught Draco's attention completely with her deliciously slender curves and creamy white skin. She was currently giggling and squealing every now and then while blowing kisses at the three men Draco had seen awhile ago – winking as several men hooted their approval when she adjusted the bunny ears on her head.

_That one isn't bad…If I do say so myself._ Draco thought reluctantly to himself, letting his silver eyes trail along her long, smooth legs, slim waist, all the way up to her beautiful face.

Strangely enough – as much as it was obvious that she was easily the most attractive among the three dancers – it hadn't been her body or her surprisingly exquisite features that had drawn him to her, however. It had been the way that luscious body was so _suspiciously familiar_ and the fact that Draco was certain he had seen those legs _or _that arse before.

In fact, he knew and recognized that body _so well_ that his growing suspicions were causing his eyes to narrow smaller and smaller in growing shock and anger.

'Trailing his eyes back up to the woman's face, he watched angrily as she smiled again and winked at the crowd of men, tilting her head cutely to the side and successfully allowing Draco to see the small red bite mark right at the base of her neck – the same bite mark he had given to his very own wife just _last night._

"Look at me! I'm a little pink bunny!" She squealed within high-pitched giggles that earned her several agreeing hoots and cheers from the drunkards around her. She pretended to fluff up her skirt flirtatiously, causing more whistles and catcalls to erupt from the crowd of eager men.

As she raised a hand and waved at them again, Draco caught sight of the unmistakable silver Malfoy wedding band positioned on her finger.

Raunchy, upbeat music started up around the entire bar but Draco's eyes flicked back to the crowd of three skulking men near the stage – who at the moment were watching him with panic and warning in their eyes. The Malfoy Head and former Hogwarts Valedictorian finally pieced everything together and cursed out loud in menacing anger.

_OH MY GOD…THAT'S…BYRON…ADDISON…ASHFORD! THEN THAT POLE DANCER IS…!_

His eyes flashing red in anger and horrified realization, Draco spit out the whole mouthful of vodka in his mouth. He looked up and gaped stupidly at the scantily clad figure onstage.

His _WIFE_ gave another high-pitched, teasingly feminine giggle and blew a kiss at the crowd right before she expertly twirled herself around the pole and began to ease herself into an erotic dance – effortlessly earning herself the rapt attention of every straight man in the room.

_HARRY?!_

* * *

_Keep smiling…Keep smiling…Keeping giggling…Act like a giggly fool. Don't blow these perverts' heads off…_ Jaimee chanted like a mantra over and over again in her head. She feigned another one of those cute, high-pitched giggles that she knew drove domineering rich bastards absolutely crazy, wincing to herself when she heard her own voice.

_Ugh. I'll never live this one down._

Keeping one hand on the pole she was dancing from, she tilted her head up and bent back as far as she could – exposing her neck and cleavage to hundreds of feasting eyes around the dark room. She heard another loud chorus of yelling and cheering before she straightened herself up and twirled around the pole once more, her short, flimsy skirt flying up her thighs.

"Woohoo! Break me off a piece of _that_ blondie! I want the bunny one in pink!"

It took Harry all of her efforts not to grimace, yank her wand out and blast the crotch off the one who had shouted out that last comment. Instead, she pretended to smile coyly and batted her eyelashes at him, winking and blowing him a kiss before twirling around the pole once more.

From the corner of her eye, she spied Ashford, Byron and Spencer – all in their appropriate disguises – seated on the small round table in the far corner of the room. She pretended to wave flirtatiously to them for a minute and they winked back, their eyes darting sideways as a discreet signal to the black-haired, bearded men seated on the table beside them.

_That must be the pervert who owns this place…_Harry thought silently to herself. One coy eyebrow raised, she smiled as she walked to the part of the stage just in front of Byron and dipped backwards again, her long legs locked tightly around the pole to distract more hungry male eyes from what she was actually planning to do.

From her position, she met Byron's golden brown eyes as he bent down over her face and pretended to 'kiss her' when in truth, he was actually whispering something into her ear. "_We've got a serious problem, Harry…Look who's over there_." Byron raised an eyebrow at her and gestured briefly to the back of the room.

Failing to understand the panic in Byron's eyes, Harry wrongly followed his gaze and caught sight of Armando Petrovsky again – wrongly interpreting Byron's warning message as a sign for her to keep her cover and maintain a close eye on the owner before anything else.

Jaimee answered him with a feigned wink, pausing briefly to teasingly adjust the hemline and neckline of her dress. Byron's eyes widened at her misunderstanding but before he could correct her, she had righted herself back up and was already slinking back to the center of the stage.

When the other two female dancers beside her began to make their way into the beckoning crowd, she tried not to wince and followed them, her eyes expertly darting back every now and then to Petrovsky's smirking, scruffily bearded face.

_Yep…This one looks like a sick pervert alright._ She thought to herself in disgust, edging away from the eager male hands that were reaching for her arse as she glided down the stage and walked past their tables.

Petrovsky was keeping his eyes on all three of his female 'veela' dancers, watching as several men around the room shouted loudly for their own individual lap dances. When Jaimee glanced at him again, he was signaling her impatiently towards a particular table near the center of the bar to where someone had apparently requested her for a private lap dance.

"Over here, sweetheart!"

_I'm not about to give bloody lap dances to these snobby perverts! Is Ashford serious with this?! _In panic, she turned to look at Ashford again but he – as well as Spencer and Byron – were watching her with wide, panicked eyes, gesticulating madly to another table at the center of the room.

_What are they so panicked about?! I thought they wanted me to keep my cover. _

Swallowing her disgust, Jaimee plastered a fake smile on her face as she sashayed over to the table of what appeared to be around six or seven men dressed in expensively tailored business suits. Unfortunately for her, the bright spotlight remained on _her_ and the other two dancers alone such that she couldn't see the faces or the figures of the men gathered around the table in front of her.

_Ugh…They're all probably leering their dirty, ugly faces at me anyway. _She thought angrily as she positioned herself in front of the dark-haired man who had spoken up near the end of the table.

"Now isn't she a wonderful treat for the eyes, eh gentlemen? Come here, my precious little bunny…I've had a long day. Come sit on my lap." The man leered out in a suggestive voice, causing the other men around the table to burst out into sniggers as Jaimee literally had to force herself to walk over to him.

_Don't hex him…Don't hex him…Don't hex him…_

The other man beside him chuckled and raised a bottle of beer to his lips before speaking. "Careful, Benedict…Are you sure you can handle a tasty morsel like _that _or shall I take her off your hands for you? Your wife might get mad." He commented, causing the other men to laugh.

Pretending to giggle and ignore their jibes, Jaimee positioned herself in front of the man named Benedict and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, using the same head movement to flick her eyes back on Petrovsky's smirking face several tables away.

_Damn it! Petrovsky's watching. I can't punch this guy's lights out._

She was about to bend down and begin a particularly seductive dance when the man on Benedict's other side suddenly spoke up in a low _suspiciously familiar_ drawl that drew Jaimee's attention easily and made her heart skip in unexpected nervousness.

"This one's _mine, _Federov."

As her eyes narrowed darkly and she was trying to figure out _why_ the angry, drawling voice had sounded so familiar amidst the loud blaring of the music around them, Benedict seemed to turn to his companion and let out a growling response.

"Over my dead, body! I saw her first—"

"Aw come on, Benedict! He's _never_ taken a woman for himself like this on our nights out until now! He's always so chained to his wife! Let him have his fun for once!" Another man spoke up with a chuckle, to which Benedict responded to with an impatient sigh and a reluctant growl.

"_Fine_… But just this once_._" Benedict pushed Jaimee away from him and gestured her towards the man beside him, failing to see the deadly murder on her face at his blatant touch on her skin.

_Push me again, you bloody bastard and I'll tear and chop your disgusting crotch right off! _Harry thought irritably in her head, her hands clenching tightly as she positioned herself in front of the man beside him. Immediately, she felt a pair of strong – surprisingly gentle – male hands place themselves possessively on her waist.

As the music began to blare louder, she turned away from him – ignoring the way she felt his eyes lingering on every part of her body – and kept her eyes trained on Petrovsky. With that, she placed a careful, sexy smile on her face and began to move seductively along the music, pausing every now and then to distract the man in front of her with several glimpses of her cleavage, legs and arse.

In the midst of her graceful movements, she felt an eerie feeling of familiarity creeping over her as his hands traveled easily up and down her body – lingering expertly and _knowledgeably _over her most sensitive areas and nearly making her pull away from him in nervousness.

_Merlin…Who does this bastard think he is?! _She thought in growing disgust, trying to ignore the man's skilled touches. At one point, one of his firm hands had traveled down to grab daringly at her arse, causing her to squeak out loud and nearly shove him away had it not been for Ashford's dangerously warning glare from his table.

_Keep it together, Harry! Don't blow your cover! Another ten or so minutes and you're out of this disgusting place!_ She told herself, feigning a sultry laugh as she finally deposited herself on the man's lap, placing her hands hesitantly on his shoulders.

She heard his breath hitching in his throat before she leaned her head backwards, supporting herself by his shoulders and bending her body slightly away from him towards the floor. Strangely enough, she felt no harboring feelings of disgust _or _unfamiliarity when the man had followed her down and bent his face towards her neck, his lips grazing very lightly and _teasingly_ just below her collarbone until the top of her breasts.

Eventually, in the middle of her dancing and the loud catcalls of the men around them, she felt the hands on her waist travel up with a strange _familiar_ knowledge of her body, resting comfortably along the curve of her back. His other hand moved up to gently trail along her neck, lingering teasingly just above her nape almost as though he _knew_ it was one of her secret pleasure points.

_Something's not right._

Harry's eyes had long strayed from Petrovsky's actions at this point. Now, they were narrowed in growing suspicion at the fact that this supposed stranger in front of her seemed to know a little _too much_ about the workings of her body for her liking.

_Nobody else knows how to touch me like this except…for…OH GOOD GOD!_

Just as Harry's green eyes had widened in horrified realization, Benedict chose that moment to speak up in a loud, perverted voice.

"Hey, _Malfoy_! You look like you're having a lot of fun with that little bunny! Don't get too cozy with her, your wife might slit your throat! Haha! Although that little morsel may be worth it, huh?" He cackled loudly but Jaimee never heard the rest of it.

Instead, the recognized and esteemed Mistress of England's most prestigious Wizarding pureblooded family was now looking up with a nervous, sheepish smile at the angry, penetrating silver eyes of her glaring husband – _Draco Lucius Malfoy._

Feeling his hands now tightening dangerously on her arse in warning and meeting the fierce, blazing fires emanating from his piercing glare, she attempted a flirtatious smile.

"F—fancy meeting you here…I thought you were at a business trip in Paris—Draco, what the bloody hell are you doing in a_ whore house?!_" " The nervousness in her voice had transformed into angry accusation somewhere in the middle of her sentence but this did nothing to prevent her husband's eyes from hardening even more in barely restrained fury.

"What are _YOU _doing as a _WHORE?!_"

At his hissed words, she stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes – unable to process anything in her mind except for the fact that Draco was glaring _very _menacingly at her in that very moment and she was still straddling his lap. She knew he recognized her easily despite her disguise and unfortunately, the former Slytherin looked like he was just about ready to slit her throat.

Finally managing another nervous, sheepish laugh, she offered him another weakly flirtatious, though slightly terrified, smile.

"Mmm…Shall I give you another lap dance,Mr. Malfoy—YAH! OW—OW—OW! Wait—"

Her fruitless efforts to distract him with a skilled seductive drawl ended up as a pathetic squeak as Draco shoved a hand through her mass of golden blonde curls and yanked. He knocked the bunny ears off her head and pulled at the soft tresses so that her head snapped down low enough for him to hiss something into her ear again.

"You have a _lot _of explaining to do…_HARRY!" _

"—OW—OW—OW! OW—Mmmph!"

The rest of the oblivious men around the table erupted into drunken hoots and whistles as Draco grabbed the wincing, nervously laughing former Gryffindor on his lap by her hair again and smashed his lips against hers in a hard, possessive kiss.

* * *

"Alright, we're done here! Take him away!"

Harry sighed in relieved exhaustion later that same night as Ashford signaled to the other Ministry officials who had arrived on the scene, indicating for them to haul Armando Petrovsky and the rest of his men away.

Though her hair and her eyes had gone back to normal, she was still in her skimpy undercover dress later and was now shivering herself to death amidst their snowy surroundings. Walking over to her, Byron offered her his jacket and the two of them watched as Petrovsky struggled and snarled wildly with the officials restraining him.

"I demand to speak to my lawyers! I'll have your head for this, Ashford! Mark my words!" Vincent sneered at the other man's vicious threat and watched in amusement as one by one – Petrovsky's entire crew was apparated out of the area back to the Ministry of Magic.

Behind this scene, the slightly disoriented veelas were slowly coming around and were gently being attended to by the numerous healers that had arrived just a couple of minutes ago. The rest of the abducted veelas with more serious cases of brainwashing were being taken to St. Mungo's for further tests and examinations.

Slightly exhausted and still shaken up from the events that had happened, Harry wrapped Byron's offered jacket tighter around her shoulders and watched in silence as Ashford continued to speak with Kingsley about the incident. The rest of the normal Aurors had arrived just minutes after Harry and the others had signaled in their confirmation of Petrovsky's illegal activities. Everything else after that had happened so fast, it was almost like a complete blur.

Moments after Draco had discovered her identity, Petrovsky had immediately called her in to his private chambers for alleged preparations. Harry literally had to tear herself away from her husband's angry, bone-crushing clutches to follow Petrovsky towards the back of the club where several more of the dancers had been asked to gather.

Ashford and Spencer had followed her in immediately while Byron had rushed over to Draco to signal his cousin _and_ the rest of MMC's clients to leave the vicinity before the Ministry arrived and an entire scandal broke out. Fortunately, Draco seemed to understand immediately and had ushered his business associates out of there before anything happened.

Sure enough, their suspicions had been thoroughly correct.

Petrovsky had called in all his dancers into the back room precisely to administer another fresh batch of illegal, red-label potions needed to maintain their trance-like state. Spencer and Ashford had rushed in several seconds after that – followed by Byron – and within ten minutes, the four of them had cleared the entire place immediately.

Byron broke Harry out of her thoughts when he nudged her gently, giving her a derisive smirk. "Looks like it turns out most of the customers here never knew these women were bewitched veela. Look over there." He gestured over to where an entire group of irate businessmen yelling at several ministry officials and reporters who were trying to implicate them on the issue.

Seeing this, Harry shook her head and disgust and began following Ashford towards the other Unspeakables waiting near the apparition site. "That still doesn't change the fact that they're disgusting, cheating bastards. Serves them right if their stocks take a plummet after _this_ scandal." She muttered darkly under her breath but Byron shook his head.

"We're under strict orders not to disclose _any _of the names we've seen here tonight. Minister Fudge's orders." He told her, watching as she froze mid-step and her face colored in anger. "What?! But that's completely messed up! They all probably bribed him, that old fart!" She grumbled, earning herself a grim laugh from the metamorphagus.

"That's politics and money for you…Hey, by the way Harry—" Byron flicked his gaze to her and gave her a teasing wink. "—those were _some_ moves you did in there! I have to ask you though, do you _do _those things for my cousin in bed because if you do, no _wonder_ he's always exhausted every morning—" He was cut off when Harry had snapped her wand and pointed it directly between his eyes.

"Not another word, Malfoy."

Byron was laughing sheepishly and held up his hands in mock surrender, his amusement still fresh from the way Harry had oh-so-failingly blown her cover a couple of minutes ago. In the middle of trying to distract Petrovsky with more of her 'seductive charms', her hair, eyes _and _scar had started to change back until eventually, Petrovsky discovered who she was.

Unfortunately, the former Gryffindor had been completely unaware of this until Petrovsky and his men began shouting 'Harry Potter!' and attempted to level her with a nasty hex. This forced Jaimee's failed flirting attempts to stop mid-way and transform into a series of lethal kicks, punches and attacks – the duration of which she had done in her pink, fluffy dress and bunny ears.

"That was _not _funny, Byron! I felt like a complete _idiot_! And you didn't even _warn _me that Draco was in there! I nearly blew my cover—"

"I _did_ warn you! You just read me all wrong!" He interrupted her tirade with another laugh, causing Harry's eyes to flash again in righteous indignation when he continued to tease her further.

"That was _hilarious_ though! You should have seen the look on Draco's face when he recognized you in that bunny attire! He looked like he was torn between pouncing on you or breaking your neck!" He sniggered loudly, stopping only when Harry hit him upside the head.

"Hey that hurt—"

"That was _not _funny!" She seethed, her face turning red as she glared at her so-called friend. "I don't even know _why _that stupid jerk was in a rumored brothel in the first place! I am going to _kill _him when I get home—" She was cut off when Byron gave her a consoling smile.

"I think my cousin has a logical explanation as to why he was in there. Draco's _never_ cheated before – he dumps a girl pretty fast when he finds someone else he's interested in but he _never_ dated two girls at the same time." Byron was interrupted when Harry's eyes flashed at him again.

"YOU'RE _NOT_ HELPING!"

The metamorphagus winced and took a step back as several more of Petrovsky's men were dragged in front of them, causing the two Unspeakables to pause in the middle of the conversation. Looking up, they caught sight of Petrovsky wrestling wildly again with his captors while Ashford was interrogating him about the accusations against him.

Harry was still looking pretty bothered when Byron looked at her again, offered her a small smile and squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.

"Aw come on, Harry…You _know_ Draco would _never_ cheat on you. He was probably here on business or something, that's all. He practically adores the ground you walk on! He'll probably jump off a bloody tower if you asked him to! Though don't tell him I phrased it that way because he'll have my head." He winked at her, finally causing the former Gryffindor to laugh weakly in agreement.

Looking up at him, she rewarded him with a small smile of gratitude and nodded.

"No, you're right…I suppose I was a little bothered at the moral character of some of the men I saw in here. I was a man once too you know and I _never_ thought about treating women this way. It's appalling…" She was interrupted when Spencer finally made his way over to them and slung an arm around Byron's shoulders.

Byron grimaced instantly and shoved him off, his eyes narrowing and turning a dangerous shade of red. "Touch me again and it'll be the last time you ever use that arm, Addison." Byron hissed at him, causing the other man to grin widely at Harry.

"He _wants _me…" He drawled, winking at Harry's laughing face before he gestured around the area. "Where's your hot husband, Potter? I was hoping to catch a quick grope on him; I thought he was in there awhile ago…" He asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Harry to answer him with a warning glare.

"He apparated his business partners back to MMC about fifteen minutes before we busted everyone. You know you guys _really _should have warned me he was here—"

"For the last time, I _did _warn you. Draco practically bit my head off when I told him why we were here! He was ready to storm in and take you back with him had I not forced him out of the bar!" Byron interjected with another snort of laughter.

Harry would have turned around and walked away from her laughing teammates in irritation when all three Unspeakables heard several ministry officials erupting into loud, panicked shouts behind them. They whipped around instantly, their hands automatically reaching for their wands as they were confronted with the scene behind them.

Petrovsky had somehow managed to escape from his captors and was now storming away from the area through the snow-covered ground. Kingsley and several more Aurors were right at his heels, throwing hexes and jinxes at him, while Ashford was shouting furiously at the other Unspeakables to chase after him before he got to the nearest apparition point.

_"CATCH HIM! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" _

Spencer reacted first and tore off after him, his wand clutched tightly in his hand and aimed at Petrovsky's retreating figure. Harry and Byron followed behind him, pulling their own wands out of their pockets and aiming several spells of their own.

"You'll never catch me, bastards! I'll see you all in court for this!" Petrovsky cackled loudly as he dodged another hex and jumped over a small bank of snow. Spencer, who was right in front of the line of Unspeakables chasing him, was a good deal of meters behind him by now.

"Addison, move faster! He's going to escape!"

At this point, Harry was just about convinced that Petrovsky _was_ going to reach the apparition point before them and escape when a figure apparated out of nowhere right in front of the fugitive's path, momentarily blinding him with the puffs of smoke from his arrival.

Neither Harry nor Byron had any time to react properly when the smoke cleared and they finally saw an angry Draco standing about five feet away from Petrovsky's running form. The Malfoy Head glanced around the chaotic scene once before he raised an eyebrow in irritated confusion and easily stopped Petrovsky's running form by landing an expert blow to the back of his head.

Petrovsky grunted in pain as Draco's fist collided with the back of his neck again and tried to swing at the other man but the blonde easily maneuvered around it, twisting Petrovsky's hands behind him. Draco blinked lazily and twirled his wand once around his fingers. Within a couple of seconds, a powerful binding spell had Petrovsky's struggles taken care of and as Draco flicked his wand upwards, the fugitive was then suspended upside down in mid-air.

"ARGH! LET ME DOWN! LET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW! I'LL KILL YOU—"

"SHUT UP! I'm trying to look for my wife!" Draco growled back at him and flicked his wand again, cutting the rest of his protests off with a powerful silencing charm. Glancing back at the stunned faces of the Ministry officials who had witnessed his suspicious display of Unspeakable skills, he raised an irritated eyebrow at them in growing impatience.

"Who the bloody hell is this jerk anyway?! He almost crashed into me and ruined my suit! I could have him fired on the spot for that—" Draco's angry tirade was cut off when Byron slapped his forehead in exasperation before rushing forward and dragging Petrovsky's bound form back towards Ashford and the other officials.

The rest of the other Aurors followed after him while Harry bit her lip and slowly slid behind Spencer to keep at safe distance from the former Slytherin. She understood her husband well enough to know that the furious flashing in his eyes was definitely _not _a sign for her to be near him.

"Thanks, Drac! We almost lost him for a minute there! Oh and Harry's that scantily clad chit in pink right behind Spencer!" Byron called out cheerfully to his cousin, failing to see Harry's left eye twitching in helpless irritation when Draco's steely eyes instantly riveted to her sheepish face.

_Gee thanks, Byron._ She thought miserably, longing to wring the metamorphagus' pale neck in frustration as she suddenly found herself backing away from Draco's furious, looming form.

Cowering nervously under his intimidating sneer, Harry began to back away from him faster in growing fear and agitation. "Ehehe…H—Hey, love…D—do you think maybe we can save this conversation until we get home because I—I really—"

"_COME HERE, POTTER!"_

She was just about ready to whirl around and run the hell out of there when Spencer chose that exact moment to walk up to the fuming blonde aristocrat and sling an arm around his shoulders. Draco froze mid-step and carefully turned his near-black eyes to the grinning Unspeakable's face.

"Mmm…Why, Draco…You are looking _hot_ in your business suit. That was _some_ impressive display of moves back there, do you think you could show me how you did that?" Spencer asked flirtatiously, wagging his eyebrows up and down as he trailed his eyes over Draco's lean frame.

Harry bit her lip and cringed as she watched Draco turn his face _very slowly_ towards Spencer. He answered the other man with an eerily calm yet very sadistic sneer.

"With pleasure, Addison."

The next thing Harry saw after that was Spencer's entire body crashing violently against Byron from where Draco had flung him several feet away, causing both Unspeakables to fall in a tangled heap of limbs on the snowy ground.

"Ugh! Addison, get the hell off me!" Byron growled, shoving him away and scrambling hastily to his feet. Spencer clutched at his aching forehead and groaned loudly as he forced himself back up.

"Oookay…_That_ hurt." He jumped up onto his feet, swayed for a couple of seconds and finally threw Draco another roguish grin but the former Slytherin was no longer looking at him and was now stalking towards his nervously cowering wife.

"U—Uhm, Draco, we're not done yet…W—we still have to examine the area for more clues… R—right, BOSS?! ASHFORD! A little HELP here, if you would!" Harry screeched helplessly at her smirking superior but Ashford merely raised an eyebrow at her, blinking as he watched Harry stumbling backwards along the snow.

"Sorry, Potter…I don't do marital problems."

Harry gave a high-pitched yelp and ducked Draco's lunge at her, twisting around him and dashing away towards the other direction. She heard him growl angrily at her evasion and storm off after her, his footsteps rapid and heavy along the clear white snow.

"DON'T YOU _DARE _RUN AWAY FROM ME, POTTER!"

She cringed and, for the life of her, forced herself to run as fast as humanely possible – shoving past several Ministry officials and Aurors who were watching the married couple with amusement and stunned confusion written all over their features.

From several meters away from them, Byron grinned widely and nudged Ashford beside him. When the Head Unspeakable turned to look at him, he gave the older man a mirthful grin. "You have to wonder…If _Harry _is the girl in the relationship, why is it that it's _Draco_ who acts like the nagging, controlling wife?" He quipped, grinning wider when Ashford's lips twitched silently in amusement.

"Point taken."

They turned back just in time to see Jaimee screaming and protesting madly as Draco finally caught up to her and hoisted her struggling form into his arms, slinging her upside down over his shoulder such that her head hung upside down facing his back.

"ARGH! MALFOY! LET ME GO! PUT ME DOWN! I MEAN IT! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Harry continued to wrestle wildly against him, her hands punching desperately against his back and her legs kicking wildly from where they were dangling over his shoulder. Draco ignored her and carried her silently through the crowd of parting Aurors smirking at the bizarre scene.

At one point, she managed to wrestle herself expertly from the blonde's grasp but the minute her feet fell back onto the snow, she began cringing and whining loudly again as Draco held her in place by pinching the outer shell of her ears.

"OW—OW—OW—OW…_DRACO!_ THAT HURTS…OW—OW—OW…NOT THE EARS! NOT THE EARS!" She protested frantically again, unable to struggle as Draco merely sneered and began dragging her backwards towards the apparition point by her ears.

"STOP STRUGGLING OR I'LL PULL YOUR EARS LONG ENOUGH THAT YOU'LL _LOOK _LIKE AN ACTUAL BLOODY BUNNY!" Draco growled back irritably, ignoring the bemused stares and laughs they were eliciting from the other watching Ministry officials around them.

Byron was in absolute hysterics at this point and was trying to hold back his laughter as he watched Harry maneuver herself free from Draco again and run off towards the other end of the area. The blonde outran her easily and hoisted her over his shoulder once more – this time preventing any further struggles by casting a spell that bound her arms and legs from moving against him.

As Draco finally began to make his way back to the apparition point with a cold, grim look on his sneering face, he passed Byron and Ashford along the way and at once, Harry looked up at them and began struggling wildly again in a final act of desperation.

"BYRON, YOU MISERABLE JERK! WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?! A LITTLE _HELP_ WOULD BE APPRECIATED! DAMN IT! ASHFORD, THIS IS ALL YOUR BLEEDING FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T—"

The rest of Harry's creatively drawn out stream of curses and shouts were promptly silenced when Draco cast another charm on her in his irritation, glaring at her in warning before shoving his wand back into his pocket.

With one final angry sneer at Byron's sheepish smile, he inclined his head once in farewell and apparated his struggling wife away with a loud 'pop', leaving the rest of the Ministry officials staring at the spot they had been standing on in stunned silence.

As soon as the notoriously bickering married couple had gone and everyone was once again busying themselves around the perimeter, Byron bit back a groan when Ashford strode off towards the other Aurors and in his place, Spencer walked over to stand beside him.

They were silent for a few minutes – Byron trying to ignore Spencer's presence altogether and Spencer grinning idiotically at him with a gleam of mischief clearly written in his hazel eyes. When the dark-haired Malfoy couldn't take it anymore, he finally shoved the report he had been reading back in his jacket pocket and glared up at the other Unspeakable in annoyance.

"_WHAT?!" _

Spencer grinned wider and gave the other man a flirtatious wink.

"So…Will you punish _me_ tonight too, Byron…?"

Byron blinked, took out his wand and apparated the hell out of there.

* * *

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU NEARLY BLEW MY COVER!"

Her shouts were cut short when Draco flung her haphazardly onto the lush, king-sized bed inside the large master bedroom of their newly bought house in Godric's Hollow. She watched with a frustrated sigh as he slammed the door shut and began to snap out numerous locking and silencing charms on it to prevent any of the house-elves from entering.

When he finally turned around to face her, she glared at him and began to shout again – her words coming out in an angry, impatient growl.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BE MAD AT _ME_ ABOUT THIS! _YOU _WERE THE ONE I CAUGHT IN A _BROTHEL _IN _SIBERIA_ BUYING A LAP DANCE FROM SOME _HUSSY _YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!" She shouted furiously at him, grabbing a random object from the bedside table – in this case, a vase of flowers – and hurling it at him in anger.

Draco hastily ducked to avoid it, watching as it shattered noisily against the door, before meeting her angry glare with a vicious snarl of his own.

"THAT 'HUSSY' WAS _YOU!_"

He narrowed his eyes and stalked toward her, looming over her glaring figure on the bed and clutching her chin tightly to force her face up towards his.

"I KNEW IT WAS _YOU _ALL ALONG, POTTER! I _RECOGNIZED_ YOUR ARSE THE MINUTE YOU WALKED ONSTAGE AND STARTED GIGGLING LIKE A DRUNKEN _TART! _I THINK _I _SHOULD BE THE ONE ANGRY HERE! I JUST SAW MY _WIFE _AT A WHOREHOUSE!" He yelled back, causing her to slap his hands away from her chin in righteous anger.

"I WAS _UNDERCOVER!" _

"YOU WERE WEARING _BUNNY EARS_ FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" Draco retorted angrily, causing her cheeks to flush darkly in embarrassment. When he looked as though he was going to shout again, she beat him to it and stood up from the bed to glare right into his eyes.

"YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE BEEN AT A WHOREHOUSE IN THE FIRST PLACE! WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THERE, DRACO?! YOU SICK PERVERT!" She ranted furiously and just as Draco opened his mouth to retort, she beat him to it again and let her voice rise several levels.

"YOU _BASTARD! _WHO KNOWS?! IF I HADN'T BEEN THERE AND YOU HADN'T CHOSEN THE 'CUTE, GIGGLY BUNNY IN THE SKIMPY PINK DRESS', YOU WOULD HAVE—ARGH!"

She cut off her own angry rant and aimed a strong punch right at him, cursing in frustration moments later when Draco merely sneered and evaded it easily, grabbing her fist out of the air and twisting her arm around her back. Before she could protest, he had pulled her up from the bed and slammed her against the bedroom doors – pinning her with his body and yanking one of her legs up against him to force more intimate contact between their bodies.

After about a minute of Harry cringing in pain and glaring accusingly at him, Draco's hands automatically found their place right up into her skirt to squeeze her arse and his lips clamped down hard against hers in a searing kiss. As he leaned in and kissed her deeper, she found herself forgetting what she had been angry about in the first place and melted completely against his lean frame.

His tongue slipped expertly into her mouth and his impatient hands went down to run enticingly along the curve of her waist, causing her to moan softly and return his ministrations by pressing herself against his chest. At his silent prodding, she parted her lips wider and began to tease his tongue with her own, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to revel in his addicting taste.

At this point, Draco had already picked her up by supporting her arse and was carrying her slowly backwards towards the bed. She wasn't aware of it until her back landed gently against the soft, silky covers and she felt his strong, lean body pressing down on hers. Their lips were still intertwined when his hands began to explore her body with possessive vengeance, greedily caressing and squeezing every curve until she had molded herself against him like a perfect human puzzle.

The natural scent of him enticed her senses entirely and she moaned into their kiss again when he slipped a hand underneath her skirt and began groping her relentlessly, earning a few more breathless incoherent mewls from the former Gryffindor. He finally parted her legs wider and positioned himself between them, making her very aware of the growing hardness between his legs.

When he began grinding his hips possessively against hers, she reached her hands up from his nape to entangle teasingly into his silky blonde hair, earning a soft groan from her thoroughly aroused husband. His lips parted with hers and latched themselves onto the bruise on her neck, sucking hungrily on the tender skin and sending delicious shivers up and down her spine. Hearing another of her beautiful moans, Draco caught hers lips in another kiss – this time thrusting his tongue all the way into her mouth.

After seeing so many men drooling over her tonight, there resided a desperate urgency in him that needed and _pushed _him to reclaim every inch of her _and _her body as his alone and his _completely._ Knowing and understanding that this was probably the best way to calm her husband down, she allowed herself to submit to his dominating ministrations.

She parted her lips to permit him full entrance, allowing him to taste her as much as he wanted until that need in him was satisfied. When his shoulders seemed to relax and he finally pulled away from her to take in some air, she looked up at him and gave him a small, teasing smile.

"You know…If _this_ was how we fought in school and if I knew _then _that the best way to shut you up was to let you stick your tongue down my throat, we probably wouldn't have earned as many detentions as we did." She quipped knowingly, causing the former Slytherin to smirk as he bent down and began to nip and suck along the pale skin of her neck once more.

"If _this _was how we fought in school, I would have made _sure_ we earned a hell of a lot more detentions together. Imagine what _else_ you'd need to let me 'stick in you' to quell me when I'm _more_ than furious_._" He retorted with a suggestive smirk, causing Harry sputter in indignation and punch him hard on the shoulder.

"You sick pervert."

Before she could say anything else, she watched as his steel-like eyes traveled down her body again, lingering intently on her breasts and legs more than anywhere else until finally going back up to focus on her flushed face. Seeing the sudden nervousness in her expression, he raised a single eyebrow and finally gave her a calm, otherwise still slightly accusatory glare.

"So…Care to explain to me _why _I found you at a whorehouse in _Siberia_ catering to a bunch of drunken _men_?" He asked in a low drawl, his eyes narrowing once again as he was reminded of _why _he had been mad in the first place.

Harry gave him another sheepish smile and tried to push him off but he remained stubbornly in place on top of her, holding her down onto the bed with his much stronger body. Sighing, she finally looked up and gave him a mildly irritated shrug.

"Draco, I already _told _you why I was there. What _I _don't understand is why _you _were there when you told me you were with your associates in Paris." She answered calmly, watching as Draco's jaw clenched and his hands tightened around her waist.

"I was entertaining my associates—"

"By bringing them to an illegal _brothel?!_" Harry snapped angrily before she could stop herself, causing Draco to flinch and give her a silencing glare.

"Let me finish first." He took a deep breath of air to calm himself again, meeting her angry gaze and forcing the next words out of his mouth into a slow drawl.

"I _was _in Paris with my associates earlier tonight. We were scheduled to discuss MMC's corporate strategies for the next couple of months until they suggested a 'stress reliever' and dragged me to Siberia with them to this supposed 'elite bar' they heard about." He explained further, watching as the anger in her eyes slowly began to disappear.

"I wasn't planning on staying…Just long enough to be courteous to them. I wouldn't have touched _any _of the women in there…That is, until I saw _you. _You can imagine my surprise when I realized that the giggly twit dancing on stage making all my associates drool was my insane _wife_." He paused and turned narrowed eyes over to her embarrassed cringe.

When she couldn't seem to say anything to him in response, he finally gave her another teasing smirk and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "Does _that_ answer your question…?" He asked with a chuckle, earning a somewhat shameful nod from Harry.

"Much. Thanks."

Laughing at the humiliation he heard etched in her muttered response, Draco leaned down and nuzzled her neck playfully. When he pulled back, he frowned down at her until Harry followed his gaze to the ring on her finger.

"This is on the wrong finger…" He pointed out in mild irritation, sighing as he placed the silver wedding band back slowly on her ring finger, leaning down and giving the limb a brief kiss. After several moments, she finally gave him a reluctant smile and rolled them over so that she was pinning him down on the bed instead.

"We've been working on busting that brothel for an entire _week_ now. Tonight was the execution of the actual mission." She began, absentmindedly playing with the buttons along Draco's white, long-sleeved shirt. He nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"Ashford was being a complete arse. He didn't tell me I would be the one playing eye-bait until we got there so I didn't know either. I would have told you otherwise beforehand. I'm sorry." She looked slightly embarrassed and refused to meet his eyes until Draco finally chuckled again and reached up to tap her playfully on the nose.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you should know that you make a _horrible _whore, Potter. You have _no _sense of sophisticated seduction whatsoever. Why do you think I recognized you easily?" He drawled, smirking when Harry's eyes flashed and she glared down at him in affronted indignation.

"Oh well _excuse me_ for not being as 'skillfully slutty' as some of the skanky women you may have dated in the past, Malfoy! But in case you've forgotten, I was born a _man!_" She snapped and she would have rolled off him in anger when Draco laughed at her reaction and reached down to pull her face gently down in a sweet kiss.

"I _know…_Which is one of the things I love most about you." He responded easily when they had pulled away, causing Harry to blink and pretend to give him a very disturbed look.

"You are _sick, _Malfoy."

Draco grinned wolfishly and tackled her to the bed, causing her to squeal with surprised laughter when he began tickling her sides mercilessly and nuzzling her neck. When she had managed to push him away and lay there gasping for air, Draco sat up and a very thoughtful smirk crossed his face.

Harry saw the look and instantly tensed up, scooting away from him in apprehension when she recognized the Slytherin gleam in her husband's twinkling gray eyes. Draco was leering at her, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

"Whatever it is you're thinking, Malfoy…The answer is _NO—"_

"I was promised a _lap dance _tonight, Potter."

Her cheeks flushing deep red and sputtering in horrified disbelief, Harry gaped at him and backed away even more when Draco sat up and leaned arrogantly against the bed's headboard. In a perfect image of the bratty, Slytherin prince that he was, he crossed one ankle over the other and tucked his hands lazily behind his head.

After several seconds of her still gaping at him and Draco glaring pointedly at her, he finally spoke up again – his voice coming out in an impatient, demanding order.

"Well?! I paid for a full _FIFTEEN MINUTE _lap dance, Potter. I _demand_ that I get it otherwise I just may be forced to recount this very tale to all of your innocent little Gryffindork friends and fans." Draco threatened mockingly, smirking wider when he saw the pure resentment on his wife's pale snarling face.

"You _wouldn't—"_

"You know I would, Potter. I'm a _Slytherin._" Came his easy, flippant response. He raised a single, aristocratic eyebrow at her again and sneered when she backed away from him even more and leveled him with another one of her famously disbelieving, furious Gryffindor glares.

"You're not actually _serious_ are you?!" She hissed out at him through clenched teeth, growing even more agitated when Draco stretched his legs out even more on the large bed and pretended to prop up the pillows behind him.

When he looked back at her, he gave her a devilishly handsome smile and tucked his hands behind his head again.

"You're right…Give me a private pole dance first. _Then _a lap dance. If you're good, I'll give you a generous tip. Well come on, Potter! I haven't got all night! I have to get home before midnight or my wife will have my neck!" He kidded in mock complaint, unknowingly making Harry yearn to wring her hands around his neck at the bratty tone of his voice.

"I hate you, Malfoy."

Draco gave her another charming smile, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he watched her hop off the bed and grudgingly walk towards the front of the room.

"And _I _love you too, Mrs. Malfoy." He smirked again and pointed to one of the large bed posts in front of him. "Use that bed post over there as your pole, it's closer to me. Hurry up, Potter! Make it worth my time _and _money otherwise I'll tell your dorky friends about your exploits tonight regardless!" He instructed haughtily, causing Harry to growl and clench her hands into tight fists.

"…Arrogant…Conceited…Perverted…Brat…"

"What was _that?_" Draco asked sharply in a loud warning voice when he heard Harry muttering under her breath from where she was positioning herself atop one of their bedposts. She rolled her eyes and answered him with a sarcastic, antagonistic growl.

"_Nothing, _Mr. Malfoy."

"Good! Now carry on!" He ordered again with an impish grin, snapping his fingers for effect and leaning back against the pillows in amusement. He pointed his wand briefly at a nearby magical stereo, initiating another upbeat raunchy tune that caused Harry's face to turn beet red.

"A—Are you _really _serious about this?!"

"No, wait…You're right. Hold on." Draco paused for a minute and sat up, ignoring the relieved expression on Harry's face as he rummaged around in his shirt pocket. When he found what he was looking for, he smirked again and looked back up to offer her the offending object in his hand.

"Put these bunny ears back on."

This time, Harry didn't bother hiding the absolute murder that flashed dangerously in her green eyes. She snatched the bunny ears from Draco's outstretched hands, hissing out creative curse words under her breath as she watched the former Slytherin struggling to contain his laughter.

"I wonder how my life would be as a widow."

* * *

_I think I'm going to be sick!_

Harry's eyes suddenly snapped open and she tore herself out of Draco's sleeping form very early the next morning, running as fast as she could to their private bathroom in panic. Once she got there, she had barely managed to flip open the toilet before her nausea swept in and made her gag out the contents of her stomach.

_Ugh…That's disgusting!_ She thought angrily to herself with a cringe as she pulled the flush and slammed the toilet shut. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she hurried over to the sink and began furiously brushing her teeth, peering closely at her reflection in the mirror.

Aside from the fact that she looked incredibly sleepy and grumpy from such a rude awakening, she looked perfectly normal – certainly not the reflection of someone who would suddenly wake up and gag the first thing in the morning.

_At least now I know I should never eat something from Siberia again. Ugh…I wonder what upset my stomach like that._ She thought moodily to herself, adjusting Draco's large shirt over her small frame briefly before heading back to the bedroom. Checking her watch, she noted that she had a good three hours left before she had to get up for work and she intended to make use of each one to get some more sleep.

She rolled her eyes when she saw Draco's sleeping form still buried deep under the covers when she walked back into the bedroom, silently blaming him for their nighttime 'activities' that had caused him to exhaust them both so much in the first place.

Stifling another yawn, she snuggled back into the covers beside him, smiling to herself when Draco's arm automatically threw itself over her and pulled her closer to his warm body. He was still deep asleep when he snuggled himself closer against her and buried his face into the crook of her neck.

_That's right, Draco…You're practically taking up the entire bed…Take up what's left of my side too._ Harry thought sarcastically to herself in mild annoyance, sighing sleepily and trying to get comfortable. As soon as she was settled once more into her usual sleeping position – usually pinned under Draco's larger, lean frame – she closed her eyes and began to fall into another deep, exhausted slumber filled with idle thoughts about the day ahead.

* * *

**A/N: **Can anybody venture a guess as to _why _Jaimee is suddenly rushing to the gag in the bathroom so early in the morning? Wahaha. Just so you all know, this fic will unfortunately _not _be updated as often as I've been doing lately. My classes have started again soon and I may be busy with school every now and then. Nevertheless, I intend to finish this fic as well so just be patient with me.

To those who are confused at this point, I _seriously _implore you to read **The Perfect Girl **first. To the others, I hope you all enjoyed this prologue chapter! It was more of an introduction really or a kind of 'setting the scene' of some sort.

**Next Chapter: **A glimpse of a typical day in Harry and Draco's married life and work life, More 'weird sickness' from Harry (*insert evil laughter*)

**AS ALWAYS, PLEASE REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS! **You know they're always such a big help to me! Cheers!


	2. An Ounce of Normalcy

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Wow! 66 reviews for just the first chapter! I'm so happy you all like the sequel! Yayness! First off, I'm so SORRY I took so long to update but like I said, school has started (I'm in grad school) and I've been swamped with work again. :grumble: Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone! Just to let you all know, I'm planning that this story won't be as long as TPG so hopefully I can finish it earlier. Anyway, I won't delay you all any further. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2 – An Ounce of Normalcy**

_BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!_

From a rumpled heap of blankets and intertwined limbs, a hand shot out and blindly fumbled around the bedside table for the irritating source of the sound. This continued for around five minutes before the scowling, sleepy face of Harry finally peered out from underneath her pillow and slammed her hand down on the alarm clock to block out the noise.

She heard Draco's irritated growl from where his face was buried against her neck. Muttering something incomprehensible in his sleep, he shifted under the blankets and pulled her closer against him, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

_What time is it…?_ Harry thought sleepily as she yawned and flicked her eyes over to the clock once more. _Ugh…8:00…I'd better get up soon. _She thought lazily to herself as she blinked up blearily into the top of their bed and waited for her mind to kick in.

Unfortunately, it was hard to think about getting up when she still felt Draco's warm body spooned so protectively over hers amidst the cold temperature that morning that her eyes began to close slowly again. Before she knew it, she had fallen into another delightful slumber.

It was a good twenty minutes later when she had woken up again and once glance at the clock again was all it took for her to jerk awake in utter panic.

"_Bloody hell! I'm going to be late!"_ She cursed out loud to herself, earning another irritated set of growls and grumbles from her sleeping husband as she tore herself out of his arms and began racing for the bathroom.

Draco didn't bother protesting and instead, tossed the silk sheets over himself. He grabbed her pillow and stubbornly buried his head underneath, closing his eyes and allowing himself to sleep for a couple more minutes before he got up after her.

Racing out of the bathroom to grab a towel and some clothes, Harry saw this and rolled her eyes at him. She grabbed his pants – the one he had carelessly flung off himself in impatience last night – off the floor and hurled it at his sleeping form.

"Draco, _WAKE UP!_ Otherwise, you are going to be late _again _and I do _not _want to listen to another one of your annoying nags about me being the reason you're always late." She told him pointedly, sighing when the only response she got was to have the pants hurled right back at her face.

"Piss off, Potter!"

Biting back an angry retort, she growled and walked over to him, poking and prodding at his form again to wake him up. When she didn't get a response, she sighed and walked back over to the bathroom to start her shower just as he let out an angry complaint.

"Why am _I _the only one who's exhausted after last night…? We must have done it around four times…?!"

She laughed when she heard his grumbling, slightly muffled voice dripping with mild annoyance. Looking back at him, she watched as the former Slytherin finally forced himself into a sitting position and glared sleepily at her smirking face.

"_Five_ actually…You probably don't remember the last one because you passed out cold in exhaustion immediately at the end. Tsktsk…_Weak _form_, _Malfoy_._" She teased, earning herself a dangerous glare from her sleepy husband.

"Why don't I screw you hard on that table right now and show you who has a weak form?!"

"I'd like to see you _try, _Malfoy."

"Don't think I won't, Potter!"

Harry returned his murderous – though slightly sleepy – threat with an innocent smile, whistling cheerfully to herself as she stepped into the shower. Draco could still hear her amused response from where he sat on the bed from the open door of the bathroom.

"And to answer your question, I'm not tired becauseI can now have as many climaxes as I want in one night without ever exhausting myself the way men do. It's probably the only advantage I ever acquired when I got this body." She sounded smug when she said this but all Draco did was give a derisive scoff and bury his head back into his pillow.

"I don't care…You're always going to be bottom anyway."

Harry's left eye twitched at his blunt, crude response but before she could say anything else, Draco seemed to have fallen asleep again. Sighing in frustration, she rolled her eyes and finally stepped under the warm water of the shower, hastily beginning to shampoo her hair into a rich lather.

Just as she was about to dry herself off about ten minutes later, she let out a scream of horror when she felt a pair of hands haul off her out of the bathroom and deposit her right on the work desk in the bedroom. Looking up with a glare, she caught sight of Draco's scowling face before he sneered and yanked her towel right off.

"I _told _you I'd screw you on this desk."

Jaimee protested against him and tried to shove him off, her eyes riveting to the clock in the bedside table in panic.

"Draco, you can't be serious! I have _fifteen minutes _to get to work—_OH GOD!_"

The rest of her indignant sentence was cut off and the next sounds that the house-elves heard coming from the master bedroom were a good deal of Jaimee's breathless moans and aching screams.

* * *

"I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late…_Stupid Draco!_"

Harry cursed irritably to herself as she arrived by floo in one of the fireplaces situated in the hectic Ministry lobby about thirty minutes later – her hair a rumpled mess and her Unspeakable uniform robes haphazardly worn and buttoned in all the wrong places. Half-heartedly attempting to fix her hair, she held the bag of coffee tighter in her other hand and proceeded to walk to the lobby's row of magical elevators.

Sparing a cordial smile and nod at the other Ministry officials apparating in and out of the lobby around her, she glanced at her watch once before rushing to one of the half-filled elevators. She bumped into several familiar faces on the way and nodded to them in greeting, ignoring the curious looks they gave her upon seeing her rumpled hair and uniform.

Just as she reached the elevator, she saw one of its occupants in the back raise a hand up and signal her with a friendly wave.

"Harry!"

Looking up, she grinned warmly when she saw Neville Longbottom's greeting smile at her as he excused himself through the crowd of the people in front of him so he could speak to her. Once he got to the front of the crowd, he gave her a light punch to the shoulder.

"Hey, Harry! Wow…I barely see you around here! How have you been doing lately?" He asked just as the a couple more Ministry officials began to pile into the half-filled elevator. Harry answered him with a noncommittal shrug and offered a wry smile.

"I've been doing alright, Neville…Mostly field work. How about you? How goes the Auror department and Kingsley? Should I be regretting not being with you guys?" She kidded but Neville laughed and shook his head, nodding briefly to a passing Auror before he answered her.

"Not really. Mostly we're still cleaning up a lot of the mess the war against You-Know-Who made. Same old stuff. How about you guys? Are you _ever _going to tell us what they really do up there in the Unspeakable department? Luna has been _pestering _me to ask you." He asked with an exasperated grimace, causing Harry to laugh at the look on his face.

She gave him an apologetic smile and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Neville…I can't do that. I'm under Ministry oath not to divulge anything about the department so please apologize to Luna for me. How _is _Luna by the way?" She asked curiously, turning to look at her friend again as a couple of enchanted plane-folded messages zoomed into the elevator above their heads.

Neville sighed in disappointment but answered her with a nod. "She's doing okay. The doctors say she could be due sometime August…I'm really nervous too. This is my first born." He told her with an agitated cringe, earning a laugh from his friend.

"Neville, _relax…_ I'm sure it's not going to be as bad as you think it is—"

Harry's voice broke off when – just as the elevator doors finally began to close shut – a small hand shot out and pulled the doors right back open.

"_Harry! _I'm so glad I caught up to you before you went in!" The relieved voice of her longtime best friend – Hermione Granger _Zabini_ – rang out as she pulled the doors back open and slipped into the cramped elevator.

Harry gave her an amused smile, noting the irritated glares they were receiving from the other occupants in the elevator at the delay they were causing. "What can I do for you today, Mistress Zabini? And _no_, I will _not _watch Elliot for you this afternoon, I'm needed somewhere—"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her teasing voice and settled herself next to Neville, giving him another smile before she turned back to Harry. "Actually, I was going to ask you about later tonight…Is that a formal event? I haven't talked to Blaise about it yet since he's still in that business meeting in MMC." She asked curiously, watching as Harry's face lit up in realization.

"Oh _yeah…_The anniversary celebration the Malfoys are throwing for Lawrence and Genevieve is tonight! I almost forgot!" She exclaimed, slapping a hand against her forehead. Hermione rolled her eyes at her best friend's ignorance and began to help her adjust the buttons on her robes.

The elevator twisted and turned sharply for several distances – both vertically and horizontally – before the doors finally opened again and a voice spoke up above their heads.

"_Department of Auror Defense…Department of Magical Artifacts..Department of Inter-Magical Cooperative Development…Department of Foreign Affairs…" _

"Well this is my floor guys…I'll see you both _and _Ron later during lunch time…?" Neville asked as he and several other officials, as well as several flying messages, began to pile out of the cramped elevator. Harry and Hermione both gave him a nod and a smile of farewell before the doors closed again and they proceeded higher along the numerous floors of the Ministry of Magic.

As they continued back up, Hermione gave Harry a disgruntled glare. "Harry, you could _at least_ have the decency to brush your hair every morning! We're in the Ministry of Magic now, not Hogwarts anymore! We have an image to uphold." She reminded her, causing the black-haired girl to roll her eyes at her friend's prudishness.

"I _do _brush my hair…Just not everyday." She grumbled, earning another reprimanding glare from her best friend. Before she could say anything else, Harry spoke up again to divert her attention. "And yes, the party later is formal. It's going to be held at Malfoy Manor, just so you know. A lot of the Malfoys' friends are going to be there." She sounded slightly put out at this, causing Hermione to give her an amused grin.

"Why do you sound so depressed, _Mistress Malfoy? _You _do _know that you're entitled to entertain the guests at these parties now right? Haven't you ever hosted one before?" She asked curiously, earning another exhausted sigh from her best friend.

Harry paused for a minute, waiting until the elevator stopped and let out more of its occupants. Once they were moving up again, she turned and gave Hermione a pointed glare. "It's not that. I _adore _Lawrence and Genevieve, I do…I just feel so out of place in these formal gatherings. All the guests are either sucking up to the Malfoys or hoping to get dirt on them. It's all so superficial." She admitted, causing Hermione to give her a sympathetic glance.

"I felt like that too when Blaise and I first got married. You're actually lucky you're not a muggleborn surrounded by purebloods. It was horrible at first…But then I adapted to all their traditional practices." From here on, Hermione suddenly started gesturing madly to the papers in her hands and gave Harry a bright smile.

"_Speaking_ of practices!" She grabbed a stack of papers and held it up to Harry's face to see. "Have you _heard _of this new conspiracy of _magical infusions_ I dug up in one of the Ministry's restricted libraries? Apparently, it's all hush-hush!"

Harry tried not to roll her eyes and pretended to look interested as the elevator stopped again and several more officials clambered past them to their respective departments. From the elevator, both girls were able to make out the glass-walled entrance of the elusive _Finance and Inter-Magical Investments Department – _along with their other best friend, Ron Weasley's familiar frame.

The former Gryffindor was in his office and had his back to them as he was conversing _very _sternly with one of the messengers from the fireplace. Several more assistants surged around him in panic, nodding every now and then to Ron's occasional barked orders.

Upon noticing his two best friends there, he turned around and acknowledged them with a friendly – although slightly distracted – wave and mouthed 'Lunch later!' with a quirky grin. Harry and Hermione waved back, giving him a nod of agreement before the elevator doors closed again and they finally ascended to their floor.

Hermione turned back to Harry and gave her another ecstatic look as she gestured to her papers once more. "I'm serious, Harry! It's _really_ interesting, I've been assigned to research about this by my superior! These documents date back _way _before the time of You-Know-Who or even Dumbledore!" She began, unaware of Jaimee rolling her eyes at her own reflection along the glossy walls of the elevator's interior.

Whether she noticed this or not, Hermione went on anyway. "Listen! Apparently, there's some ancient magical practice – although _very _dark and very illegal – that led to the disappearances of _hundreds_ of wizards in the middle ages—"

"_Department of Unspeakables…Department of Muggle Relations…Department of Magical Artifacts Preservation…Department of Central Intelligence and Strategic Operations…"_

"Well, I'd love to hear all about your theories Hermione but unfortunately, we're both off here." Harry suddenly cut in with an innocent smile as she gestured to the opened elevator doors. The last of the officials behind them excused themselves as they clambered past the two former Gryffindors, delaying Hermione's protests.

The Zabini Mistress looked irritated at having been interrupted but before she got the chance to say anything else, Harry was already whistling and walking out of the elevator towards the mysterious, magically concealed entrance of the Unspeakables Department.

"I'll see you at lunch, 'Mione! I'm late!"

Harry never saw the frustrated glare Hermione sent her as she raced towards the large distorted mirror at the end of a dark, narrow hallway and tapped her wand once on the glass surface. Almost instantly, her distorted reflection suddenly looked up, blinked sternly at her and spoke to her in a cold, brisk voice.

"_Identity verification please."_

Checking her watch, Harry leaned forward and spoke up in an equally clear voice. _"ID Code 7707."_ She paused to place her bag and coffee on the floor before pressing both her palms up against the mirror's surface. At this, her reflection disappeared and the mirror glowed a bright, eerie green.

After a couple of seconds, the green light vanished and her distorted reflection appeared again. _"Identity confirmed…ID number 7707 may proceed. Welcome Mrs. Malfoy." _Harry had to cringe awkwardly at the sound of her legal name as she grabbed her bag and coffee off the floor again and walked magically right through the glass mirror's surface.

Her surroundings began to refocus and she finally stepped into the large, surprisingly classy and exclusive interior of the Unspeakables Department. The walls, ceilings and floors of the entire department office were enchanted to be nearly transparent enough for all the Unspeakables to see right through the entire building and through each other's offices. This also enabled them to be instantly aware of any unwanted guests or intruders from other departments spying or approaching.

Amazingly enough, the office was also enchanted so that no one outside could see _into _the large department and this was something Harry was particularly thankful for. Unfortunately, the transparency of each Unspeakable's office walls also enabled her co-agents to see that she was late – something Harry was definitely _not _thankful for.

"You're _late_, Potter!"

As she entered the busy department, about twenty Unspeakable agents looked up from their individual offices and turned to give her an admonishing look. Cringing and giving them all an apologetic smile, Harry ducked her head sheepishly and raced to her assigned office – the one in the far corner right across the Head Unspeakable's office.

Just as she passed by Byron's office, Harry peaked through his slightly open door.

"You want some fuel?"

Looking up to meet her grin with a crooked one of his own, Byron nodded gratefully and gestured for her to enter. "Thanks. You're an angel, Harry. About time you got here too. What's the matter? My cousin keep you up all night again?" He teased as she set the cup of coffee down on his desk and gave him a silencing glare.

"Lay off it, Byron! Or I'm going to tell Lawrence exactly _why _you turned down that debutante he set you up with again last night." She threatened with a mischievous grin, causing Byron's face to pale slightly as he reached over and took a sip of her offered coffee.

She gave him a wicked grin and raised an eyebrow at him in consideration. "Such a shame really…She was _hot_. I would have hit on her had I still been a guy." She thought out loud, causing Byron to shoot her a mildly exasperated glare.

"Well you're _not_, so don't talk like that! You're the Malfoy Mistress, you'll creep other people out! Besides—"

Before he could think of a proper witty response to say, another Unspeakable had already poked his head into Byron's office and was now approaching Jaimee with a very flirtatious smile.

"A _pleasant_ morning to you, Jaimee…You are looking particularly _gorgeous_ today—"

"Good morning to you too, Nicholas." Harry answered with a slightly bored, otherwise wry smile as the handsome figure of Nicholas Ambleton – a handsome, blonde Unspeakable from Beauxbatons who had graduated two years ahead of them – walked right up to her and handed her a thick stack of folders.

"Here is your paperwork for this morning. Ashford says he wants those in by this afternoon." Nicholas shot her a particularly gorgeous half-smile and gave her a suggestive wink as she took the folders from his hands. "Late again, are we? Judging from Ashford's face right now, I'd say he doesn't look too happy about that." He drawled, allowing Harry to follow his dark eyes right through the semi-transparent walls to Ashford's seated figure in his office several meters away.

Sure enough, Vincent Ashford was conversing with several assistants all at once through the fireplace but was shooting Harry dirty looks every now and then, indicating haphazardly to the watch on his wrist. Harry cringed and offered him a sheepish smile, which he returned with another glare before returning to his conversation.

Byron smirked and watched as Harry – in her distracted state – suddenly stiffened when she felt Nicholas slowly snake his arm around her waist.

"So…Jaimee…You wouldn't happen to _still _be married, would you…? Because if you're looking for some company tonight, then I would love to take you to dinner." Nicholas murmured flirtatiously again, chuckling when Harry stiffened and instantly shoved him away in irritation.

Giving him an angry growl, she stepped away from his grinning form and shook her head in exasperation. "For the _last _time, Nick…_Yes_, I am _still _married! And even if I wasn't, I _still _wouldn't be caught dead with a sleaze like you!" She snapped, ignoring Byron's muffled laughter as she gave a smirking Nicholas one last glare before stalking right out.

She heard Byron mocking Nicholas as she left but she didn't dwell on it as she finally made her way to her own office, placing the documents, her own cup of coffee and the rest of her things on her slightly disorganized work desk. She was just about to sit down and take a short breather when she heard Ashford's loud, angry voice echoing across the hall.

"POTTER! MALFOY! ADDISON! GET YOUR ARSES IN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Looking up through the near transparent walls, she saw Ashford glaring at all three of them and indicating impatiently for them to get up.

_Great…I knew there was a problem with these stupid walls. I can never slack off and get some rest. _Harry sighed weakly in exasperation and forced herself out of her seat again; meeting both Byron and Spencer's equally curious glances as the other two Unspeakables clambered out and followed her to Ashford's larger and much more intimidating office.

"You reckon he's finally going to tell me how much he wants me?" Spencer whispered to Jaimee with a wink as he fell into step with her. Byron answered before she could by giving the other man a threatening growl, accompanied with his fingers lengthening into gleaming, sharp talons.

"Maybe he's going to report me to Azkaban for breaking your neck, Addison." The Malfoy son growled, causing Harry to roll her eyes and push them both back away from each other. "Break it up, you two…Come on." She led them both to the Head office and pushed open the large doors, meeting Ashford's lazy blue eyes from behind his desk.

The handsome Head Unspeakable had looked up from a thick stack of parchments and folders on his table and leveled them all with a stern glare. "Sit down. I only have fifteen minutes to explain this afternoon's assignment. Don't worry. I've given you three relatively easier missions since you're all rookies anyway." Ashford drawled, smirking at the look of offended irritation on their faces.

Harry stepped awkwardly into the large, overtly trophy-decorated office and plopped herself down on a small chair situated at the far corner of the room. Spencer sat down beside her – far away from Ashford as possible – while Byron grinned widely and sat himself down at the very front directly in front of Ashford's desk.

"Good morning, sir…Get a good night sleep?"

Ashford merely raised an aristocratic eyebrow at him in mild amusement, his blue eyes sweeping once over Byron's lean frame.

"Somewhat."

He cut himself off immediately after that and turned to face Jaimee and Spencer before Byron could say anything else.

"First off, you were _late _Potter. You come in late one more time and I will send your skinny arse back to training, is that understood?!" He snapped harshly, causing the female Unspeakable to wince but otherwise nod in agreement.

"Next…Malfoy, I want last night's mission fully compiled and ready on my desk by this afternoon before you leave for your assignment. No excuses." He continued, much to Byron's slight panic as he opened his mouth to voice his adamant protest.

"But sir! You just gave me that report this morning! I'll need some help if I'm going to finish it on time, perhaps _you_ could help—"

"Hmm…Maybe you _could_ use help." Ashford stroked his chin in thought, failing to see the excited gleam in Byron's golden brown eyes. To the metamorphagus' disappointment, Ashford turned sharply to Spencer and gave him a brief nod.

"Addison, help Malfoy with it this afternoon. I'll be expecting better quality since there are two of you working on it." He decided curtly, causing the light in Byron's eyes to fade into irritation.

Seeing Spencer smirk and wink pointedly at Byron, Harry hid a smile when she saw the dark-haired Malfoy's scowl. Ashford chose that particular moment to speak again, his attention not on them but on the stack of parchments his secretary had just placed again on his large desk.

"Now...For your assignments. I'll be splitting you three up into separate missions today so listen carefully." He paused briefly to affix his signature on a particularly long piece of parchment before looking up and pointing his quill directly at Spencer.

"Addison, you'll be impersonating a St. Mungo's Healer today to visit a wizarding family in Switzerland – the _Brechbühlers._" Ashford paused for a minute at this to glance at his notes, ignoring Spencer as he looked up and gave Byron a nonplussed look at the strange name.

"Bless you…"

When Byron rolled his eyes at him, Spencer turned to Harry. "How do you spell the name of that family?" Harry ignored him and turned back to Ashford as he continued.

"I'm sending you there to investigate a strange medical case. I was recently told to look up on the mysterious and slightly suspicious case of the family head's strange magical sickness." He shook his head and looked up to meet Harry's slightly curious gaze.

"What's wrong with him, Ashford?"

Ashford frowned and creased his eyebrows in thought. "I'm not entirely sure…I suspect it's a form of poisoning. But he's been getting physically weaker with every passing day and his magic has been going off _everywhere_ like he can't control it_._ We have no known record of his condition as of yet so we'll need to investigate." He turned to Spencer again and gave the man a strict glare.

"The _Brechbühlers_ are a very traditional pureblooded family living just east of the elite neighborhoods of Berne so they're _very_ hostile to strange investigators. You'll have to be undercover as an expert and prestigious healer from England to get them to talk to you" He told him, causing Spencer to look slightly put out at such an easy assignment.

"That's _it?_ No flirting with complete strangers and leaving them hanging for more of my mysterious sensuality? No danger and death-defying combats that might lead me to my premature death?" He asked with a pout, causing Ashford to look up and glare at him with icy blue eyes.

"Keep talking and I'll lead you to your 'premature' death myself."

Harry and Byron both sniggered under their breaths when Spencer gulped and answered Ashford with a sheepish grin of agreement.

"Next…You, Malfoy. There is a _similar_ case with a young witch who works at a bar in Tokyo. She's the daughter of a Japanese Wizarding family and has been showing some of the early symptoms of the strange disease. I want you to look into the matter, _not_ as a healer but as a normal bar customer who will befriend her and ask her about it directly." He finished, causing Bryon to look slightly bothered as he voiced his question out loud.

"Will I be able to make it back to London in time for dinner? My family is throwing an anniversary celebration for my grandparents, you see—"

"That's entirely up to you and how fast you can give me adequate results from your investigation." Ashford interrupted him impatiently, causing Harry to roll her eyes and lean over to whisper something to Spencer beside her.

"I don't know _what _Byron likes so much about Ashford…He's such a pompous, bigheaded prick if you ask me—"

"Well no one's asking you, Potter." Ashford cut in with a pointed smirk at her, causing her to snap her mouth shut loudly and color in mild humiliation. She ignored Spencer's muffled chuckles and offered her boss a helpless smile.

"I—I didn't mean for you to hear me sir…What I meant was—"

Ashford ignored her and flicked his gaze back to his paperwork. "_You_, Potter…I am assigning a search and capture mission." Byron and Spencer looked slightly put out at this but only until Ashford finished his next couple of sentences.

"You are to meet later with a man whom we discovered is the direct supplier of the illegal, red-label potions used by Petrovsky – as well as a whole ring of other illegal businessmen around England." He began, flicking his wand up to distractedly to levitate three sheets of long parchment to all three of their outstretched hands.

"All your mission parameters and objectives…As well as the schedule times, meeting places, and delivery of your undercover outfits should be listed there. If you all have no further questions, you may all get back to work." Ashford finished with a final nod, never noticing the look of exasperated dismay that was once again on Harry's face.

"Sir…? _Why _am I assigned another one of these missions?! Do I really have to—"

"_Yes_, Potter. You really _do _have to wear a slutty leather outfit and boots."

Hearing this spoken out loud, Harry instantly colored while Byron and Spencer burst out into rambunctious laughter. Ashford was looking impatiently at her as she ignored her teammates' laughter and tried to voice out her protests once again.

"B—But sir! _WHY_ must I always be undercover in these _ROLES?!_ Can't I have Byron's mission?! Or maybe Spencer's?!" She asked in frustration, to which Ashford answered her simply by smirking and shaking his head at her growing ire.

"Because it _works _for you, Potter. Like it or not, you transformed into an incredibly _hot_ woman. As such, you have also been given the _powerful_ gift to manipulate the daft and simple male mind. _You _of all people should know how easily a man – a _straight _one that is—" Ashford paused as Byron and Spencer both chuckled at his quip.

"—is swayed by a gorgeous woman. You may not like it but _you _are one of my most valuable agents in the department right now precisely because of that gift. That's called an _advantage_, Potter…And I intend to make full use of that advantage as much as possible." He gave her a brief grin when he saw the irritation etched on her features.

"Besides…I believe that the best approach to any investigation is _stealth_ so you're perfect for these roles. They'll be so busy staring at your arse that they'll tell you anything." He finished, ignoring the adamant shaking of her head as he looked back down onto his parchments

"But Draco will—" Harry's panicked protests were cut off once more when the Head Unspeakable waved them away in growing impatience.

"Malfoywill just have to understand that it is your _job _to do as I say! You're welcome to quit anytime otherwise if you don't like it!" Ashford snapped out irritably, causing the Malfoy Mistress to finally fall silent and nod meekly in helpless agreement.

"The man you are meeting is the owner of this illegal business which manufactures red-label potions. He expects to have hired a particularly _dominatrix_ prostitute for tonight so you'll have to play the part—"

Byron and Spencer muffled their laughter again at the look of horrified disgust on Harry's face when she heard 'dominatrix' but Ashford ignored them and continued.

"—Take that opportunity to catch him alone without his bodyguards, knock him out and bring him directly into custody in Azkaban. We have enough evidence to lock him up for several weeks." At this, Ashford finally paused again and looked up to give a cringing Harry a slightly thoughtful look.

"Hmm…Bring a whip along as well and keep your hair down. You can cover yourself up going there with a large trench coat. I will have your full disguise sent to your office after lunch." He finished, ignoring the pink blotches on Harry's face and the laughter Spencer was trying to choke back at the mere idea of Jaimee carrying a leather whip.

Byron, however, had his own problems and was now eyeing his own sheet of parchment with a look of sheer horror on his face.

"S—Sir…My disguise later…? A—am I really supposed to look like…like…well—"

At this, Ashford finally looked up and gave Byron a surprisingly teasing wink, the corners of his lips lifting into a lazy, sexy smile.

"Androgynous? Yes, Malfoy. I believe it's called _cosplay_ in Japan_._ The bar you're going to is popular for it. Don't worry, you'll blend in easily and I guarantee the only attention you'll attract is one drawn from lust." His voice sounded slightly flirtatious at this, causing Harry to look up in surprise just in time to see Byron meeting Ashford's look with a suggestive smirk of his own.

Spencer looked livid and appeared as though he was about to make a scathing comment directed towards Ashford but Harry shook her head hastily and yanked him away, distracting him long enough for Byron to make another teasing comment.

"In that case, sir…Perhaps you could help me with my disguise later…? You know…Just check to make sure I look alright enough to blend in…?" He asked with a sly smirk, ignoring the way Harry was making a face at them and pretending to gag herself.

Ashford looked up at this and swept his blue eyes once more over Byron's lean frame before letting it come to rest on the dark-haired Malfoy's smug face. This time, the lust Harry had seen from Ashford's intense orbs directed towards Byron was unmistakable. Raising an eyebrow, the Head Unspeakable rewarded the younger man with another smirk before returning to his paperwork.

"Perhaps another time, Malfoy…"

Byron looked slightly disappointed at this but didn't have time to dwell on it when Ashford spoke up again – this time in a sharper voice.

"Now…You three! Get to work!"

At this, Byron and Spencer both stood up immediately from their seat as though it had caught on fire and began making their way to the door. Before she followed them, Harry looked up and gave her stubborn boss one last pleading look.

"Sir, do I _really_ have to wear this outrageous outfit?! Draco's going to kill me—"

"_GET OUT, POTTER!" _

"Y—Yes, sir!"

Harry meeped at Ashford's raised voice and shot up from her seat, scrambling her way back to the door's exit. Unfortunately, she hadn't even made it to the door's handle when she felt a sudden wave of nausea overcome her – followed by a strange feeling as though the ground beneath her feet was suddenly pulled out from under her like a thin rug.

"Potter! Potter, are you alright?! Malfoy, get her some water or something!"

She heard Ashford's concerned order, as well as caught sight of Byron's concerned face as the metamorphagus rushed back into the office. Ashford had leaped up from behind his desk in shock right before her eyes began to flutter close and she felt the near transparent walls of Ashford's office beginning to spin around her until her vision began to dim into black.

"_Harry! Harry?! What's wrong?! Are you okay?! She looks really pale and clammy! Somebody get her some water! Move away! Let her breathe!"_

Spencer, Byron and Ashford's panicked questions dulled out into low and slow-motioned baritone voices as Harry finally closed her eyes shut and stumbled in unexplainable exhaustion. She eventually fainted in a dead limp against Byron's outstretched arms.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy…"

"A pleasant morning to you, Mr. Malfoy…"

"You're looking handsome today, Mr. Malfoy…"

Draco smirked to himself in self-satisfaction as he strode arrogantly through the long, elegant hallways of Malfoy Multinational Conglomerates – a pack of his analysts, financial advisers and managers trailing obediently behind him and speaking all at once about his scheduled meetings and decisions for that particular afternoon.

A dozen flirtatious smiles and greetings followed him everywhere from all the different departments' secretaries as he made his way through the top floor of the building to his office. He nodded and smirked at several of his lower ranking managers every now and then, pausing for a couple of moments to side step another secretary aiming to 'accidentally' bump into him before continuing to converse with his head analyst – Matthew Anderson.

"The company's profits have been up by ten percent since yesterday…Also, you are scheduled with a meeting with your father's old business partners today…They should be arriving this morning from Shanghai and are eager to reestablish business relations."

Draco nodded and took all this into mind as he finally reached the large double doors leading to his office, pausing briefly to collect his messages from his own secretary at the very front.

"Very well…Confirm with them. I'll be having lunch with my former housemates this afternoon so schedule it after. Then, I'd like to—" Draco paused in mid-sentence and blinked in confusion at the curly blonde, attractive young woman who was now seated behind the desk of where his female, middle-aged secretary had once been.

At the sight of the handsome MMC president, she straightened up in her seat – purposely allowing Draco a view of her long white legs as exposed by the ridiculously short hemline of her skirt. Draco's eyes swept once over her in disdain before he turned to face Matthew's slightly nervous cringe.

"Where's Agnes? Who is _this_?" Draco asked bluntly, giving him and the rest of his advisers a mildly irritated glance for having not informed him of the obvious change. The blonde woman stood up from her seat and greeted him with a sultry smile, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering as her eyes swept once over Draco's lean form.

"I'm Natasha Richards, Mr. Malfoy…I'm your new secretary. Agnes has just retired yesterday so I'll be your secretary from now on. I'm looking forward to working…_under_ you…" She drawled seductively, her coy, bright violet eyes never leaving Draco's uninterested, sneering face.

"I see."

Before she could respond, Draco turned sharply to Matthew and raised an eyebrow in question, causing the other man to wince at the anger he saw in those steely gray orbs. "You know I don't like surprises, Anderson. Who authorized Agnes' resignation and why didn't anyone tell me about it? And who hired this incompetent woman in her place without my knowledge?" He snarled out, causing his advisers to eye each other accusingly in question.

Mathew cleared his throat and spoke up first, wincing when Draco's eyes flashed angrily at him once more. "I—I did, sir. B—But I can assure you that Natasha is more than capable of being your secretary. She has agreed to the long hours you sometimes work and will be available at your beck and call." He assured him, causing Draco to sneer wider and eye Natasha in growing disgust.

"I'm _sure_ she will…"

Undaunted, Natasha gave him another seductive smile and leaned her hands on her desk, purposely exposing her daring neckline – much to the roaming eyes of Draco's financial advisers behind him. Draco simply raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"I've organized all your schedules and paperwork for this afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. I placed them right on your desk. I've also organized and cleaned your office. Mr. Anderson thought it was unnecessary but I told him otherwise." She gave another low sexy chuckle and reached a hand up to teasingly pick an imaginary piece of lint off Draco's shoulder.

"If there's anything else I can do for you, Mr. Malfoy…_Anything_ at all, don't hesitate to—"

She stopped midway and gasped in fear when Draco suddenly reached forward and pointed his wand directly at her throat.

He looked right into her surprised face and narrowed his eyes until they were very dangerous, angry slits. "If you had talked to Agnes _once_ before agreeing to this job and thinking this would be the best way to sleep around with the 'boss', you would know that I expect only _five _things from my secretary every day." He began in a dangerous hiss, ignoring the quelling protests he was receiving from his shocked advisers behind him.

Natasha managed a nervous smile and turned wide eyes to Draco's sneer, her face pale and her form visibly shaking as she eyed the wand he held pointed against her throat.

Draco's voice lowered into an ominous drawl. "_One_…I expect that when I get here every morning, she will hand me my cup of coffee. _Black._ No sugar. No cream. _Two…_She will hand me the financial reports, documents to be signed and scheduled meetings/itinerary for that day. _Three…_She will inform me when there are people waiting to see me and she will tell them when I am busy or unavailable…" He paused, waiting until his words sunk in before he continued.

"_Four…_She will _NEVER _set foot into my office without my permission and _five…_She will never…and I mean _NEVER_ touch me. Is that understood?!" His voice ended in a dark, chilling tone and she caught every word as she nodded hastily, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

"Y—Yes sir."

The former Slytherin smirked at her stuttered response and finally released her, shoving her back down into her cubicle until she fell back onto her seat. Breathing heavily, she looked up to meet the amused glances she was receiving from Draco's other advisers. The Malfoy Head turned back to Matthew and took the offered documents from his hand.

As soon as Draco entered through the elegant double doors of his office – followed by the rest of his advisers rushing in to follow him, Matthew Anderson stayed behind and gave Natasha a consoling and slightly reprimanding glance.

"I told you not to mess with his office. Although I must apologize, Ms. Richards…I should have warned you that Mr. Malfoy does not like being touched by _anyone._ You'd best remember that if you want to keep your job here." He told her firmly, patting the pale, stricken secretary's hand before strolling into Draco's majestic office and closing the huge double doors behind him.

He found the young Malfoy Head lounging lazily on his seat with his feet propped up onto his table. He was nodding and listening intently to the reports of the managers gathered around him about the plans of the company for the day. At the same time, he was also throwing an occasional dart at the dartboard several meters across his desk.

Matthew bit back a squeak of fear as one sharp dart zoomed right past his ear by mere inches and landed perfectly right on the dartboard's bull's eye. Draco smirked at his reaction and gestured lazily for the man to approach him and report what he had to say.

"Mr. Malfoy…We have several complaints from the new investment firm we have tied up with following the pull-out of the Winchesters. They say they require greater interest rates if they're going to continue business with us—"

Draco rolled his eyes, setting his feet back down from atop the table onto the floor.

"Have that idiotic secretary schedule a meeting with them tomorrow. I'll talk with them and hopefully we can arrange a compromise on the rates they want. Meanwhile, everything is sound at this point. Carry on all of you. Anderson, I expect those marketing reports on my desk before lunch." He added sternly, to which Matthew bowed to in acquiescence.

"As you wish, Mr. Malfoy…"

Draco inclined his head once as the entire group gathered all their papers and scrambled hurriedly out of his office, bowing to him several times as they closed the double doors once more. Once they were gone, he had managed to leaf through the folders they had given him regarding the company's financial status for about fifteen minutes before his magical intercom suddenly blared to life with Natasha's sultry voice.

"Mr. Malfoy…There's a Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Anton Malfoy here to see you."

Cringing to himself at the mention of 'Mrs. Weasley', Draco rolled his eyes and didn't bother hiding the annoyance in his voice as he answered.

"Let them in."

He couldn't hold back a chuckle when he heard Lorraine's indignant voice approaching just before the double doors to his office swung open and his two half-veela cousins – Lorraine and Anton Malfoy – walked in dressed respectively in aristocratic robes of pink and blue.

Lorraine was carrying a squirming Francesca – her adorable, red-haired daughter – in her arms as she walked in, earning a reluctant smile from Draco when he saw her. Anton, as usual, looked as handsome as ever and was currently giving Draco an impish grin.

"You never told me your new secretary was _hot, _Draco…" He greeted with a smirk, causing Draco to roll his eyes to himself as they sat down on the seats in front of his desk. Lorraine had a similar reaction to her brother's comment as she deposited Francesca on Draco's desk – earning a glare from her cousin when her daughter began reaching for his documents.

"I didn't even _know_ I had a new secretary till this morning, Anton…" Draco drawled in response, lazily pointing his wand to the doors to his office. Once they had closed, he turned and gave both his cousins a curious gaze.

"Well…What are you both doing here? You know how busy I am these days, I take it you just up and decided to pay me a little visit?" He asked them pointedly, earning a reproachful glare from Lorraine as she leaned back in her seat.

"Now don't be like that, Coco! We're your family, we just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing with the family business and all." She practically sang out in a cheerful voice, laughing when Francesca managed to grab hold of one of Draco's reports and put the piece of paper into her drooling mouth.

Draco shot up from his seat and snatched the paper away in panic, accidentally tearing it and leaving a small piece left in Francesca's mouth.

"Argh! Lorraine! Your daughter is drooling all over my reports! Ugh! Get her off the table!" He complained loudly, causing both Lorraine and Anton to smirk in amusement at him when Francesca simply looked up at the blonde and offered him an angelic smile.

"Goo…Ga!"

Francesca giggled, grabbed a nearby bottle of ink beside her and hurled it playfully at Draco, causing the former Slytherin to curse loudly in angry indignation when the bottle splashed instantly all over the front of his suit.

"GAAARGH! Lorraine, your daughter is a menace! Have you been allowing Weasley to teach her to DESPISE me?! She got black ink all over my suit!" Draco exploded in an angry shout as he shot up from his seat again and glared at Lorraine with an accusing look.

Before Lorraine could answer him, Francesca seemed not to have appreciated her Uncle raising his voice into a shout in front of her and she burst into tears, filling the walls of Draco's office with her high-pitched screams and sobbing.

Draco's anger immediately faded into a nervous cringe when Lorraine's face twisted into hostile veela form and she leveled him with a horrifyingly angry glare.

"_DRACO! _Now look what you did! You scared my daughter! I toldyou _never_ to raise your voice when you're around her!" She growled at him as she picked Francesca up and cradled the baby to her chest in an attempt to placate her. Anton smirked at Draco's sheepish shrug and leaned back in his seat to watch them with a chuckle.

Draco grumbled and sat back down in frustration, grabbing his wand and trying to spell the ink off his clothes. "Ugh…You'd better hope this comes off with a simple cleaning spell, Lorraine." He complained loudly, at which he earned another fierce glare from the female veela as she leaned down and hit him hard on the head.

"OW! BLOODY HELL!"

To all three adults' surprise, Francesca saw this and her cries dissolved into adorable giggles, much to Draco's stunned dismay and Anton's immense amusement. Lorraine heard this and stopped as well, turning to give her daughter a quirky grin.

"You laughed, sweetheart? You want Mommy to hit your idiotic Uncle Draco again?" She cooed sweetly at the toddler, waiting until her daughter answered with another giggle before she turned back to smirk evilly at her older cousin.

Draco backed away instantly and leveled her with a warning glare.

"Lorraine, don't you _dare_ hit me again or I swear I'll—OW! DAMN IT, ANTON! WHY DID _YOU_ HIT ME?!" He growled out loudly, his silver eyes flashing dangerously in growing anger.

Francesca _and _Lorraine both dissolved into giggles this time while Anton gave Draco a pointed smirk and leaned back on his seat.

"Don't you _dare_ curse in front of my goddaughter, Draco. You got her crying, it's only right it's at your expense she laughs again." He smirked wider at the death glare Draco shot at him and watched as the Malfoy Head simply muttered darkly under his breath.

Lorraine rolled her eyes at them and settled her daughter back on her lap, planting a kiss down onto the mane of red curls. "We didn't come here to pick on you, Draco. We actually really _did _just want to drop by for a visit. Francesca was getting a bit agitated staying at home all day so I asked Anton to show me inside MMC." She explained after awhile, watching in amusement as Draco fussed over trying to remove the ink stains from his shirt.

Draco looked up at her but before he could even utter a proper response, Francesca surprised them further when she looked up again – looking first at her mother before raising a hand and pointing it directly at Draco's form.

"Fewwet!"

As Francesca dissolved into another fresh set of giggles – followed by Anton promptly choking with laughter – Lorraine looked up and gave a fuming red and practically seething Draco a helpless, mirthful smile.

"It was the first word she learned yesterday. I didn't understand what it meant at first until Ron explained it to me—" She tried to explain further but Draco interrupted her with an angry retort, along with him glaring menacingly at the toddler in Lorraine's lap.

"WEASLEY HAS TAUGHT THAT CHILD TO HATE ME!" He blurted out, causing Anton to cover his mouth with his hands as he desperately tried to prevent himself from laughing harder. Draco continued anyway and pointed an accusing finger at Francesca's happily cooing form.

"Look at her! Look at that evil smile! SHE'S MOCKING ME, I TELL YOU! She and her father are CONSPIRING against me—"

Draco's suspicious rant was cut short when Francesca gave him another adorable smile, grabbed the offered rattle in her mother's hand and hurled it right at his head. This time, even Lorraine couldn't help giggling when Draco cursed again and finally backed away from them, scowling darkly and rubbing his sore head as he sank down onto the large couch at the corner of his office.

At this point, Anton was barely able to contain his laughter as he took Francesca from Lorraine and rewarded his goddaughter with a kiss on her forehead. "I _knew _you were smart, Chessie… You knew all along that your Uncle Draco is a pompous, bigheaded prick didn't you? You were trying to deflate his head for him…" He drawled, looking up and smirking at his older cousin.

The Malfoy Head was just about ready to let out a rather interesting and creative stream of curse words already formed in his head when one death glare from Lorraine silenced him. Instead, he scowled further and glared darkly at them from where he sat.

"So…? What do you two want anyway? You've had your fun; you should leave now and let me work!" He snapped, raising his wand and summoning the stack of folders on his desk to him. Lorraine rolled her eyes again at this and offered him a smile.

"Oh don't be like that, Draco… Chessie was just playing around. You're being a bigger baby than she is." She teased, earning herself another glare from her cousin. She laughed and walked over to him, settling herself down on the couch beside him.

"We're actually here to talk to you about the party later. That's like…what…? Grandfather and Grandmother's 35th anniversary? Have you got everything covered?" She asked curiously as Anton stood up with Francesca and walked over to sit on the couch across them.

Draco nodded and scooted warily away from Francesca – much to Lorraine's exasperation and Anton's avid amusement. "Yes, everything's covered. The house-elves are preparing the manor for it as we speak. It should start exactly at 9pm so you two had better not be late. Especially _you, _Anton." Draco shot his cousin a dirty look, to which Anton returned with a noncommittal shrug.

"I'll be picking my date up from her office by 8:30 so don't worry." He told them with a sly smile, causing Lorraine to sigh loudly to herself. "What are you going to tell Ginny when she sees you going with another woman? Have you even _told _her yet?" She demanded but Anton answered her with a mildly irritated sigh of his own.

"Why do I even _have_ to? Ginny is _not_ my girlfriend, alright? We dated a couple of times and sure, I like her but I do _not _commit to anyone!" He snapped back, unaware of the bemused smirk on Draco's face as he listened to the interesting conversation between the two.

"She _still_ deserves to know, Anton! You can't just play around with her feelings like that—"

"Why not?"

Draco and Anton both asked this out loud – the older Malfoy son with a smirk while Anton had a slightly confused frown on his face. Lorraine gave them both an exasperated look and focused her attention on her brother instead.

"Because she's not just some random girl you picked up from somewhere! She's my sister-in-law and I don't want you messing around with her like you do with other girls –"

Draco let his head drop down onto the glass coffee table in front of him with a loud 'thunk' and he began muttering darkly to himself loud enough for them to hear him.

"This never even would have _happened_ if you two hadn't dated _WEASLEYS…_Ugh…More Weasley blood in my family…This is going to bring our demise somehow—"

_"FEWWET!"_ Francesca cooed out again, interrupting through Draco's monologue with himself with a loud squeal and giggle. Draco lagged for about fifteen seconds at this, after which he chose to ignore her and continued to grumble to himself in growing, helpless misery.

"Bloody Weasleys…Too much of their blood going into the family already! It's horrifying! It's wrong! Next thing you know, Malfoys will start having _red-hair_! Oh Merlin, noooo!"

At his last thought, Draco's eyes widened in horror and he let out a strangled meep right before he thunked his forehead onto the table again.

Anton and Lorraine both ignored him and continued to argue with each other.

"I am _not _going to cancel my date tonight, Lorraine!"

"Well then at least call Ginny and explain to her that you'll be bringing a date!"

"I will _not!_ Never in my entire _life_ have I ever been considerate to a girl! Stop nagging me!"

"You're such a sleaze, Anton! When will you ever learn to grow up and settle down—"

Draco's muggle cellphone chose that exact moment to blare to life and almost immediately, Draco picked his head up from where he was bumping it on the coffee table, flicked the phone open against his ear and muttered in a low, dejected growl.

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"Draco…? Is that you?"

Blaise Zabini's amused voice sounded from the other line – much to Draco's immense relief as he shot up from his seat when he recognized the sound of his best friend's familiar drawl.

"Blaise! Thank Merlin!"

He looked back up at his two arguing cousins briefly – checking to make sure they were still bickering and unaware of his presence. With a smirk, he carefully slipped past Anton and Lorraine to the opposite corner of his large office and finally turned back to his cellphone.

"Don't tell Granger but I'm actually _glad_ I let her convince us to use these muggle phone cells. They're faster and more convenient than owls when you need to talk without a fireplace." Draco mused briefly, earning an amused chuckle from Blaise.

"They're called _cellphones_, Draco. And I'm glad too, I don't have to send an owl to you every five minutes whenever I need to ask something. Although I still don't know how to use it that well—"

"Neither do I. So what do you want? You're saving me from an irritating argument here between Lorraine and Anton. They didn't even notice I slipped away with this phone cell—"

"Cellphone, Draco."

"—and they're _still _arguing. So anyway, what do you want? You'd better not tell me you're canceling lunch with the Slytherins later, otherwise I'm going to haul your arse out of your office." Draco threatened mildly, pausing to hear another laugh from Blaise when he answered.

"I'm not. I was actually just calling to ask where we'll be meeting Pansy and the others. Millicent is pregnant again, did you know? I heard from Daphne this morning." He told him, causing Draco to make a face to himself at the image.

"Doesn't Goyle ever let up from shagging Bulstrode all the time? Ugh…Wait…Bad mental image. Damn you, Zabini." Draco could sense that Blaise was smirking on the other line when the other former Slytherin spoke up again.

"With the exception of Malcolm who still _isn't _married, you're the only Slytherin who doesn't have a child yet. That's strange considering you were the one most eager to procreate. When is Potter going to pop out a kid?" Blaise asked smugly, causing Draco to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"You sound like my mother. She's just _anxious_ about me giving her a grandchild. Don't rush me, Blaise. Believe me; I'm _trying_ as best as I can_._" Draco smirked to himself as he remembered his little morning 'exercise' with his wife a couple of hours ago.

"I practically '_try' _as many times as I can every damn _night_ to the point of exhaustion—"

"Ugh…Too much information, Draco."

Blaise sounded disgusted as he said this, earning another chuckle from Draco as he finally paused and turned to look at his watch. "Anyway, I have to put down this phone cell—"

"_CELLPHONE, _Draco."

"Whatever. I have to go back to work. We'll be meeting at _Posh Palace_ later – it's a French cuisine restaurant in London near Gringgotts. Pansy was the one who chose it." He explained, waiting until Blaise confirmed again.

"Near Gringgotts?"

"Just south of it, I think." Draco glanced back at his cousins again and smirked when he saw that Anton was now desperately concentrated on preventing Lorraine from sending one of Draco's office owls out the window to mail a letter to Ginny.

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

Draco flicked his cellphone shut and shoved it back into his pocket, pointedly ignoring his arguing cousins altogether as he walked back to his seat and began to go through the documents on his desk again. He was interrupted when a small hand shot out from beside him and tugged lightly at the sleeves of his coat.

Looking down, he found himself staring into the big, friendly blue eyes of a smiling Francesca looking up at him from where she stood on the floor beside his seat. She raised a small, chubby baby hand and pointed it directly at his face.

"_FEWWET!"_

* * *

"Harry?! Harry?! Are you alright? Can you stand? Spencer, get her a glass of water!"

Groaning loudly, Harry forced her eyes open and instantly regretted her decision when she was met with the bright, glaring lights of her office. Blinking and squinting, she waited until her vision refocused and she found herself lying on the carpeted floor of her office and staring up at the handsome face of one very concerned Byron Malfoy.

Blinking dazedly up at him in confusion, she flicked her eyes around in question and saw that a small group of her fellow Unspeakable agents – including Nicholas and Spencer – were gathered around her and were peering down at her in concern.

Another groan of pain escaped her lips as she tried to sit up – only to wince again when she felt her head recoil from the sudden movement. Byron saw this and helped her up into a seating position, taking the glass of water from Spencer's offered hand and handing it to her.

"Here, drink this…You look a little pale." He told her, waiting until she took it with a weak, grateful smile took a long, satisfying sip. Handing the glass back to Byron, she waited until her vision settled and her consciousness seeped back in before looking up into their questioning faces.

"Wh—What happened…?" She asked stupidly, causing Byron to exchange a look with Spencer as he helped her back up to her feet and led her slowly to the nearest chair. Once she sat back down, she looked up at him again to indicate for him to answer her question.

Byron gave her one last look to check her condition before he answered. "You fainted about twenty minutes ago. If you hadn't woken up sooner, we would have brought you to the infirmary downstairs…Are you alright? How are you feeling?" He asked, causing Harry's eyebrows to fuse together in confusion at his question.

"I'm fine _now…_I actually don't know what happened." She admitted thoughtfully, taking another long sip of water. Byron continued to look unconvinced so she turned and gave him – as well as everyone else behind him – a slightly sheepish smile.

"I—I'm sorry for worrying everyone. I suppose I'm just a little tired from lack of sleep…I'm okay now. I really am. Thank you for worrying." She reassured them, waiting until they gave her a slightly reluctant smile before returning to their own individual offices.

Byron and Spencer remained with her and continued to give her cautious looks as though they expected her to faint again – to which Harry laughed and waved their concern away. "Seriously, you two…I'm fine. I really _was_ just tired and fatigued. I'll be okay once I get some food in my stomach." She kidded weakly and just to prove them wrong, she shot up out of her seat.

"See? I'm fine…No worries." She told them again and at this, Spencer walked over to her and hit her lightly on the head. "You git! You really scared us there for a minute! I thought Ashford had scared you into fainting or something!" He kidded and at this, Harry looked around in confusion.

"Where _is _Ashford anyway? I remember his voice fussing over me awhile ago." At her words, a slightly sour look crossed Byron's face and his hands tightened into fists. Harry noticed this and looked at Spencer in question, to which Spencer replied by chuckling and gesturing to Ashford's office.

"Ashford _was _fussing over you until about ten minutes ago when a dark-haired, _sexy _stranger came looking for him. He let the man in and they've been talking intimately in his office for some time now…" Spencer smirked and pointed to the office across the room. Through the semi-transparent walls, Harry could make out the suspiciously familiar back of the man talking to Ashford across his desk.

As Spencer had indicated, the conversation _did _look rather intimate and noting this, Harry cringed and turned to give a brooding Byron a consoling glance. Spencer ignored Byron's dark expression and watched Ashford and the man talking in growing interest.

"I reckon that man is Ashford's rumored 'someone'…He looked the part too. All _smoldering _and _mysteriously sexy_ with that deep drawling voice…Mmm…I'd like to get a piece of him myself." Spencer thought out loud but Harry ignored him and leaned forward to pat Byron on the shoulder.

"If it's any consolation, Byron…Ashford's an arrogant jerk, anyway. I'm sure you can find someone else—" She was interrupted when Spencer exclaimed loudly and started jumping up and down like a kid, yanking impatiently on Harry's robe sleeves as he pointed to Ashford's office.

"Holy Merlin! I was right! Look, look! They're kissing! They're going to kiss! They're going to kiss!"

Sure enough, Harry looked back up and saw Ashford smirking and leaning forward briefly from behind his desk to plant a brief kiss on the other man's lips. Turning back to look at Byron, she bit her lip when she saw the crushed look on his face.

"Byron—"

"I—I'm glad you're okay, Harry…I think I need some fresh air. I'm going down to the Ministry lobby for awhile. I'll see you later." Byron interrupted coolly before she could say anything else, ignoring Spencer's excited squealing as he turned and walked briskly out of Harry's office towards the main department entrance.

Harry would have followed him out had Spencer not latched onto her shoulder again and redirected her attention to Ashford's office with his excitedly shaking finger. By now Ashford had pulled back and both he and his guest were rising from their seats and heading out the door.

"Look! Look! The man is turning around! Check him out, Harry! Byron! I want to show you how hot and smoldering he looks!" Spencer exclaimed excitedly. The Durmstrang graduate was clearly unaware that Byron was no longer there as his eyes were focused intently on the man turning around to face their direction.

Harry shrugged him off her shoulder in growing annoyance and turned to give him an irritated growl. "Spencer, _stop _jostling me! Besides, if you were paying attention, Byron just left! Ashford will get mad if you keep staring at his office like that so stop—"

"He's turned around, Harry! Look! Just turn around and look at him!" Spencer interrupted again, practically jumping up and down. With a heavy sigh, Harry rolled her eyes and finally turned around one last time, her green eyes riveting to the face of the man exiting Ashford's office and making his way across the hall.

"Doesn't he just smolder, Harry? Merlin, I wish I could get a piece of him! He may be the hottest thing I've seen walking this earth—"

But Harry was no longer listening and seemed to have gone into an absolute state of shock at this point – her green eyes widening in ridiculous proportions and her feet seemingly rooted on the spot. Her face had paled again and was now stuck in a half-grimace, half-silent-scream of horror.

She stood shaking as the man she was staring at seemed to stop in mid-stride when he passed her office and looked up to meet her gaze in equal surprise. Then, with the capacity of movement that had eluded a sputtering, gaping Harry altogether, the man's lips curled into a familiar sneer of dislike and he entered her office in one swooping motion.

"Harry Potter…Or is it _Malfoy_ now…?"

Spencer looked from the man to Harry in shocked disbelief.

"You know him, Harry? Harry?! Harry! Are you alright? Oh Merlin, please don't faint again! Hello? Are you alright? Harry, snap out of it!"

Harry was deaf to Spencer's indignant protests and continued to stare up stupidly at the man in front of her with her eyes wide, her jaw hanging open and her face pale as a ghost – the only sounds escaping her those of strangled, incoherent and high-pitched squeaking.

Ashford walked in from behind the man and inadvertently answered Spencer's question for him, turning to give Harry a small smirk of amusement.

"Ah, Potter…I'm glad you've come to. I was a little worried. You remember Severus Snape…? I believe he was your Potions Professor back at Hogwarts…?"

Looking up, she was met with Snape's familiar dark eyes as he looked down at her with the same disdainful sneer she had seen so many times before back in Hogwarts.

"I wish I could say it's a _delight_ to see you again…_Potter._"

_Oh…Bugger._

Harry's wide green eyes finally rolled up to the back of her head and she fell backwards in yet another dead faint onto the floor with a loud, heavy 'thud'.

* * *

**A/N: **Mwahahahahaha! I'm so evil! :sinister laugh echoes somewhere far away in the distance: I'll bet none of you saw that coming, didn't you? Well if you did, then kudos to you! I have finally decided on the pairing I will give Byron thanks to all your lovely responses! I got a lot of good ideas about his love life too so thank you all so much! If you wish to know who he'll end up with, tell me in your review and I shall reply to you alright? I don't want to spoil it for the others who want to keep in suspense till the end. :wink:

**Just a disclaimer:** I do NOT find Snape sexy at all but I realize there are some of you who do so to please everyone, I will write him as such. (Trivia: I have never written him that way before so this is my first time. Weee!) We good, everyone? :wink:

**Next Chapter: **Lunch with the Slytherins, Lunch with the Gryffindors, Anniversary Party and a quick glimpse of Harry's undercover assignment

**Till next time! Leave me a review alright? Cheers everyone! (Who's excited for the HP 6 movie? Woohoo!)  
**


	3. Punctuality is a Virtue

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Totally excited for the HP6 movie! I want to see some serious D/H interaction in there! Hahaha! (Well I can dream, can't I? Hehe. )

* * *

**Chapter 3 –Punctuality is a Virtue  
**

"_PROFESSOR_ Snape?! As in my godfather?! _THAT _Professor Snape?!"

Draco was desperately trying to hold in his laughter at the sound of his wife's frantic voice through the cellphone he held against his ear. Harry sounded like she was having difficulty breathing and was rushing in all her words at once in shocked panic.

"I _know!_ For Merlin's sake, Draco! He and Ashford were ALL OVER EACH OTHER! It was like watching something out of an alternate universe or something!" She exclaimed, her voice cracking slightly in agitation. Draco smirked at her description, nodding briefly to his secretary as he strode out of his office for lunch later that afternoon.

Natasha flashed him another flirtatious smile as she saw him leaving but Draco barely noticed. He checked his watch, cast a charm on his briefcase to make it smaller before shoving it into his jacket pocket and walking out towards his magical, private elevator.

"Well, love…There are probably weirder couples out there. I mean, if somebody had told _you_ back in sixth year that you'd be married to _me_ about a year later, you probably would have freaked out too." He drawled, smiling to himself when he heard her melodious laughter on the other line.

"I suppose _that's _true…But then again, I probably would have been more freaked out at the part where I become a woman and get breasts." She kidded just as Draco slipped into the elevator and pressed the button to take him down to the company lobby.

He waited until the elevator doors had closed and he was alone before pressing the phone closer against his ear. Leaning lazily against one of the elevator walls, he let his voice drop into a low, suggestive whisper.

"Mmm…Speaking of which…Can you tell me what you're wearing right now…?"

There was a long pause on the other line at which Draco was guessing Harry had paused in slight shock at his perverted question. After about five seconds, she spoke again – her voice a mixture of exasperation and reluctant amusement.

"Uhm…My Unspeakable uniform?"

Draco rolled his eyes at her response.

"That's not what I meant…" A smirk crossed his lips and again, he lowered his voice into a suggestive whisper. "…What lingerie have you got on…?"

The sound that came from the other line sounded like a choked-up, scandalized laugh.

"You are such a _pervert_, Malfoy…You know that? Is there _ever_ a single moment that you do not think about _sex?_ I'll bet you can't go five seconds with a clean mind, can you?" Jaimee challenged lightly, causing him to chuckle again just as the elevator twisted and turned for several levels.

"……."

"Well…?!"

Draco grinned against the phone piece, feeling somewhat giddy at imagining Jaimee's own teasing, beautiful smile just on the other line.

"That was five seconds, Potter."

She laughed at this and as always, the sound brought another genuine – somewhat goofy – smile to his face. "You are _impossible, _Draco…" She told him, pretending to sigh helplessly just as the elevator doors finally opened and Draco stepped onto the elegant main lobby of the MMC building.

"You know you love me..."

"Yes but I don't actually know _why_…"

Draco laughed and switched his cellphone to his other ear, using his right hand to sign off a bunch of waiting documents by the receptionist. He grabbed the small stack of folders offered by one of his waiting managers just by the private apparition area.

"So where are you off to now…?"

Jaimee chuckled softly at his question. "I'm heading to the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch with some of the Gryffindors. I'm actually with Ron and Hermione right now—"

Draco scowled at this and instantly cut her off. "Great, then tell that Weasley jerk for me that he's an arse for teaching his daughter that _FOUL_ word!" He growled but before Harry could answer him, she was cut off again by someone in the background.

As he stopped just in front of the apparition point, he heard Harry arguing with someone for several seconds before Ron Weasley's voice suddenly blared through the line. "Right back at you, _FERRET-FACE!_ Oh and by the way, the deadline of MMC's financial documents are up this week and I _ASSURE _you that if you are one _SECOND_ late, I will list you down for a dozen violations—"

"You miserable bastard! If you think I'm going to let you threaten me or my company like that, you've got another thing coming—" Draco was cut off from his angry tirade when Harry seemed to have grabbed the phone from Ron again and hurriedly spoke up to stop him.

"Draco!" She sounded irritated and gave a helpless sigh. "Look, I've got to go. We're just about to floo out of here to Diagon Alley." She told him and at this, Draco's anger instantly faded away and he spoke up in another low, teasing drawl.

"But you still haven't told me what lingerie you're wearing yet. At least tell me what color you have on." His smile faded when he heard Ron's voice speak up in the background again.

"Ew! Malfoy, Hermione and I can actually _hear_ you!"

Draco's left eye twitched irritably. He was just about to let out another scathing comment when Harry laughed and finally spoke up again in a dismissive tone of voice. "I'll see you later tonight, alright?" She paused briefly before adding in a slightly mischievous tone of voice.

"Black…The really tight, string ones."

The mental image this caused brought a flush to Draco's face and he felt the familiar, heated stirrings of an arousal somewhere below his belt.

"…You little tease."

His somewhat amused wife responded in another smug, teasing tone of voice. "Tell me how lunch with the Slytherins goes later, alright? I have to go now. Love you."

"Yeah, yeah…Love you too."

As soon as he had shoved his cellphone back into his pocket, he stepped right onto the apparition point and in a single 'pop', reappeared on the busy streets of London just right in front of Gringgotts Bank. Looking around, he caught sight of the small, classy café that Pansy had indicated and slowly made his way through the crowd toward it.

Before he even got there, he recognized Blaise Zabini's tall frame from about several meters away and he smirked, nodding to the other man in greeting. Like him, the Italian Head was decked out in full corporate attire and was carrying a stack of documents in his hands.

At the sight of him, Blaise looked up and offered him a friendly grin. "Hey Malfoy…You're looking pretty sharp for somebody who's worth more than 5 billion galleons a year." He kidded as the two former Slytherins exchanged their traditional friendly nods and handshakes.

Draco scoffed at this and followed the other man into the restaurant entrance. "I should say the same for you. I heard you helped skyrocket your company's investments to almost 75% more of its original value this year alone. What lies have you been feeding your managers?" He retorted easily with a chuckle of amusement.

Blaise grinned at him and gave him a conspiratorial wink. "I think it's just my natural charm and charismatic nature that blinds them." He kidded as they entered the classy café and began looking around the small area for their other friends.

They found Pansy Cunningham, Daphne and Theodore Nott, Malcolm Pellerin, Vincent Grabbe, and Gregory and Millicent Goyle seated near the end of the room on a large, rectangular table and slowly made their way toward them. Once they got there, Pansy was the first to shoot right out of her seat and throw her arms tightly around Draco in an excited, overenthusiastic hug.

"_DRACO!_ Darling! I haven't seen you in months!"

Draco cringed and halfheartedly tried to untangle her arms from where they had latched onto his neck. Blaise watched this with a chuckle and sat down next to Daphne, whom he acknowledged by turning and allowing her to reward him with a friendly peck on the cheek.

"Blaise…How are you, darling?" She cooed, both of them chuckling as they watched Draco finally managing to wrestle Pansy off him and take the seat beside Blaise. He nodded accordingly to the other former Slytherins in friendly greeting, smirking in amusement when he saw that Millicent was, in fact, looking very pregnant.

"Millie, you look as pregnant as ever. Couldn't keep it in your pants, could you Goyle?" Draco acknowledged with a suggestive grin, causing both his friends to color in embarrassment. Blaise hid his own smirk behind his newly poured glass of wine while Pansy and Daphne both giggled.

Theodore shook his head and returned Draco's grin with a chuckle. "Don't make fun of Greg, Malfoy. At least he _has_ a second child lined up…How about you?" He looked pointedly at the blonde after that, causing Draco to flush in embarrassment and give them all pointed glare.

"Mind your own damn business."

They all sniggered but fortunately enough, their attention didn't last long on him and soon their gazes were drawn to the blue baby carriage positioned right beside Pansy's seat. Crabbe and Malcolm both smirked at the look of surprise on Draco and Blaise's faces and followed their eyes to the squirming male toddler now seated on Pansy's lap.

Pansy giggled at their reactions and held up the chubby, dark-haired baby in her hands. "Drakie…Blaise-pooh…I'd like you both to meet my darling little baby boy, Baxter…" She bent down and cooed over the boy in her arms. "Baxter…Meet your Uncle Blaise and Uncle Draco." She looked up and gave them both a saccharinely sweet smile.

"Would you like to hold him, Draco?"

"Uhm…No thanks, Pansy…"

Draco had winced and looked slightly uncomfortable at her suggestion, unaware of the way Blaise, Theodore and Goyle were looking all him with silent smirks on their faces. Crabbe voiced their thoughts out for them in an amused drawl and chuckle.

"Aw…You're not scared of a little harmless toddler are you, Draco?" He kidded lightly, earning himself a glare from the blonde. Draco stood up indignantly and walked over to take Baxter from Pansy's hands as though to prove them wrong.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Crabbe! Look, I can handle Baster—"

"_BAXTER!_" Pansy snapped irritably, to which Draco gave her a sheepish grin in apology and hastily corrected himself.

"—_Baxter! _I can handle _BAXTER_ just fine! I mean, he's just a little kid and he's pretty harmless!" He rushed out, pointedly choosing to ignore the way Daphne was muffling her laughter behind her handkerchief. Shooting her a silencing glare, he slowly raised Baxter up to inspect his face.

"See? I think he likes me? Don't you little guy – WHOA!" Once glance at Baxter's upturned, pug-nose – which he obviously inherited from his mother – was all it took for Draco to cringe and hastily pull his head back in utter shock. His eyes wide were with incredulity as he turned to look at Pansy's confused, suspiciously narrowed eyes.

"_WHAT?!" _

Blaise, Malcolm and Theodore had practically shoved their napkins into their mouths to muffle their laughter while Crabbe and Goyle were pretty much trying not to meet the look in Draco's eyes for fear of laughing. Pansy was glaring threateningly at Draco as though daring him to say anything – to which the Malfoy Head responded to by giving her a forced, charming smile.

"He's…Uh…A… _handsome_… little bugger, isn't he?" He managed a light chuckle and held Baxter back out to his mother, giving the squirming boy an awkward pat to the head. "He certainly…takes after his mother." Draco sat back down before Pansy could say anything else, sighing in relief when Daphne seemed to take pity on him and spoke up again.

"Let's all order, shall we…?"

* * *

"—and for some strange reason, the actual transactions had occurred _this_ year but were written in _last _year's records! I mean, the bastard was actually trying to escape taxes somehow!" Ron paused in the middle of his angry tirade and stabbed his fork through his half-eaten steak, raising the meat up and waving it pointedly at Harry and Hermione's disgusted faces.

"They're a bunch of money-sucking pureblood scums, I tell you! The minute I find more evidence against them, I am going to report them to the department and run them out of business! They actually think they can put one over on _me?!_ Hah! They've got another thing coming…" At this point, the rest of Ron's sentence was reduced to an incoherent mumbling as he put the whole half-eaten steak into his mouth and began chewing angrily as he talked.

Harry and Hermione exchanged amused smiles and shook their heads as Ron continued to rant on in front of them, unaware of the fact that none of the other former Gryffindors – including Neville and Ginny – seemed to understand anything he was saying. In fact, they looked more interested in trying to hide the look of disinterest on their faces.

Around them, several more of the Leaky Cauldron's usual customers went on about their usual business in the restaurant – pausing every now and then to cast a look of recognition on Harry and to do the familiar flicking of their eyes to the scar on her forehead. Now, however, this was followed with another flick downward this time to the Malfoy wedding band on her finger.

Trying to ignore their curious glances – particularly the waitress who was trying to get a good look at the Malfoy family insignia on her ring – Harry looked up from her plate of pasta and forced herself to listen to the rest of Ron's story.

"…And so I told his client about his unethical business practices and unfortunately, it also leaked out to the company's board of directors and so—"

"_SO!_ Hermione! What is up with _you_, lately? How have you been doing?" Ginny suddenly spoke up in the middle of Ron's tirade, earning herself a glare from her brother as all the others' attention were suddenly focused on the brunette in question.

Hermione looked surprised at having been addressed so suddenly but gave Ginny a grateful smile. "I'm fine, Ginny…I've been really tired these past couple of days from taking care of Elliot when I get home from work. Blaise has been going off on a good deal of business trips this week so we've had to schedule our time with the baby." She explained, taking a sip of her goblet of water.

Harry and Neville both gave her a sympathetic smile while Ginny merely scoffed and shook her head at the other woman's response. "Then tell Zabini that _he_ should take care of Elliot every now and then. It's not like you have to be the one always watching the baby just because you're the woman. You've got to learn to take charge once in awhile, Hermione! Let him know that you're not to be bossed around!" She exclaimed, earning an amused snort from Ron.

The other Weasley rolled his eyes to himself and shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. "You do realize that kind of personality is probably what scared Anton off away from you in the first place, right Ginny? You tend to intimidate a lot of men with that attitude." He pointed out, instantly causing a light flush to stain his sister's cheeks.

"W—Well…T—That is—"

Hermione gasped out loud while Harry's eyes flicked over to Ginny in surprise. Neville simply looked amused and gave a slightly embarrassed Ginny a consoling pat on her hand. "What did Anton Malfoy _do _to you, Ginny? Did he hurt you? I'm going to break his neck if he—" Hermione's voice was cut off when Ginny spoke again, hastily waving the matter away.

"It's nothing, Hermione. It's not like Anton and I were dating or anything! We only dated a couple of times and even then it was purely unemotional. No strings attached." She reassured them all, much to Harry's snort of disbelief and Ron's disgusted scoff of derision.

He took a long swig of his juice before wolfing down another big piece of bread. "Is that why you've been asking Lorraine lately if you could accompany her to her weekly visits to Malfoy Manor during the weekends? You were hoping to get another chance to flirt with him again, weren't you?!" He accused disgustedly and once again, Ginny found herself the unwilling attention of her other friends' disapproving stares.

"I—I was _not!_ I just wanted to spend a little time with my sister-in-law, that's all!" She defended herself weakly but unfortunately for her, Harry followed Ron's comment up with one of her own. "So _that_ was why I've been seeing you around so much in the manor lately. Honestly, Ginny…You probably _did_ scare Anton off. You _can_ get a little bit intimidating sometimes." She admitted, causing Ginny to level her with a fierce glare of warning.

"What?! I am _not_ intimidating!" She argued but this time, even Neville spoke up, drawing their attention to his slightly hesitant expression. "Actually, Ginny…You kind of are_._ At least I remember you being so when we were dating…" He paused thoughtfully but Ginny never gave him any other chance to continue and turned her wide, blue eyes to Harry.

"Harry?! I wasn't intimidating when we were dating right?!" She urged insistently but the other woman simply flinched and looked down, refusing to meet her eyes when she answered. "I agree with Neville, Ginny_._ You were all controlling and high maintenance…It kind of scared _me_ off too." She admitted, causing both Ron and Hermione to hide a smirk behind their hands.

Ginny looked just about ready to explode and was glancing from Harry to Neville with wide, disbelieving eyes. "What?! I can _not_ believe this! You guys never told me! You always took everything like a bunch of sissy, pansy boys – I just _assumed_ you were okay with it!" She interjected and at the word 'sissy', Harry looked up with sharp green eyes.

"Hey! I was never OKAY with having to 'report' to you everyday the names of all the women I've talked to and having to ask your 'permission' whenever I want to play Quidditch with the guys! You drove me _insane!_" She retorted, causing Ginny to flush in embarrassment when Hermione gave her an admonishing glare.

"Ginny! That _was_ a little extreme—"

"I was never okay with having to arrive _STRICTLY _fifteen minutes earlier for every date and waiting for you for an _additional_ fifteen minutes because you were always late after!" Neville added with a shudder, shaking his head at the memory. "Yeah and when her datearrived around _three _minutes late, she'd have a cow and would ignore him the rest of the night." Harry added sarcastically, earning a snigger of agreement from Neville.

He shook his head at the memory and added in a half-hearted banter. "Yeah, I remember that. Blimey, Ginny…It's no wonder you scared that blonde veela jerk away. You're one high maintenance woman." He realized out loud, causing Ron and Hermione to laugh to themselves.

Ginny didn't appreciate their laughter at her expense and scowled to herself, folding her arms huffily across her chest. "I didn't scare him away! In fact, I'm willing to bet that Anton would agree with me when I say that I was the _best _sex he ever had—" Ron promptly choked on his glass of water at her words but she ignored him and continued.

"—and you should have seen the look on his face after!" She said triumphantly, turning and meeting the embarrassed blush on both Hermione and Neville's faces. Unlike them, Harry was smirking at Ginny in open amusement while Ron was practically seething with rage.

"Y—You slept with that veela jerk?! H—How could you—"

"You should know how good I am…right, Harry?" She added coyly, fluttering her eyelashes up at the other girl. Not wanting to do anything to ignite Ginny's legendary temper, Harry just cringed and nodded hastily – ignoring the fact that Ron's angry, bloodshot eyes had now flicked over to her.

"The best I ever had as a guy." She answered automatically with a nervous smile and slightly sheepish shrug.

_"You slept with my sister, Harry?!" _

Ignoring Ron's angry protest, the entire table's attention shifted to Hermione and the way the brunette's eyes suddenly flashed in feminine indignation. The former Head Girl slammed her glass of water down hard on the table and stood up, looming over Harry's cowering form.

"WHAT?! _SHE_ was the best you ever had as a guy, Harry?! I thought _I _was!" She seethed and at this, Harry jumped up immediately from her seat and backed away from her angry best friend, holding her hands out in front of her in a frantic 'I surrender' pose.

"Ehehe…A—after _YOU_ of course, 'Mione!"

"_WHAT?! HARRY!"_

It was Ginny who had shot up out of her seat this time and at this, Harry groaned out loud and buried her face in her hands in defeat. Neville was watching the scene with choked up laughter while even Ron seemed to have forgotten his anger for a moment and was sniggering loudly as he continued to watch the helpless exasperation on Harry's face.

The former boy-who-lived had collapsed back down onto her seat and started banging her head repeatedly against the table in dismay. She began muttering nonsensical words under her breath to drown out Hermione and Ginny's simultaneous shrieking.

"I can't believe you, Harry!"

"I thought you said _I _was the best!"

"Hermione could _never_ be better in bed than me!"

"Ginny is nothing but a skank!"

Before the argument could escalate any further, Harry shot up sharply from her own seat and pushed both girls away from each other. Her voice cracked several times in defeat as she forced out the rest of her exasperated words in a hysterical tone of voice.

"You know what?! It doesn't even _MATTER_ because I am _NEVER _having sex as a man again! _Okay_?! It doesn't matter _WHO _I say is best because I don't even have a _CROTCH _anymore to base it on! In case you've both forgotten, I'm a bloody WOMAN now!" She paused at this and gestured wildly to her respective body parts.

"SEE?! _ME? _Breasts! Hips! Legs! _NO CROTCH?!" _

Hermione and Ginny colored in embarrassment at Harry's words – especially when several heads in the restaurant turned to watch them with scandalized looks on their faces. Unfortunately, Harry never noticed all the attention on her and continued to rant on in front of them.

"And just so you both know, the best sex I have ever HAD in my LIFE is with _DRACO_! Hands down, no competition! OKAY?! So you two bloody women just…_SHUT UP!_" She exclaimed loudly, choosing to ignore the way Ron and Neville both made a face at her words.

Hermione and Ginny both sat back down in a huff, crossing their arms across their chests and glaring at each other over the table.

The Malfoy Mistress remained blissfully unaware of the fact that just about every person in the restaurant had turned and was now watching her with wide-eyed, rapt attention. Once she realized this, she hunched back into her seat and hurriedly hid her face behind one of the menus – blushing even darker when Ron and Neville began laughing to themselves.

Seeing the humiliation on Harry's face, Ginny turned and gave her a sympathetic smirk.

"Don't worry, Harry…I'll make sure Witch Weekly doesn't publish any gossip about your exciting sex life this week." She reassured her with a chuckle, earning herself a weak glare from the other Gryffindor. Ron scoffed at her words and finally pushed his empty plate to the side of the table.

"I still don't understand why you like working for that magazine, Ginny! Among all the careers you could have gotten, you _had_ to choose to be a _Gossip Columnist._ It's like you didn't learn at all from watching Harry." He pointed out, causing Ginny to turn and stick her tongue out childishly at him.

Neville spoke up to support Ron's statement. "Yeah, Ginny…Aren't there any moral issues involved in that? I mean, all those stuff you publish and write about people – they aren't actually all true right?" He pointed out, finally causing Ginny to purposely drop her fork and spoon dramatically onto her plate in frustration.

"And _so…?_ I happen to _like_ my job, you guys! In fact, the onlyreason I'm even going to the Malfoys' party tonight is so I can scoop up some dirt on Anton for this week's issue!" She told them haughtily, causing Hermione to roll her eyes to herself in disbelief.

"What?! You don't believe me, Hermione?! I mean it—"

"Ginny, I hate to be the one to break it to you…" Harry finally spoke up again, her voice sounding uncertain as she slowly set the menu back down on the table to uncover her face. She looked around and made sure no one else was listening to their conversation before she continued.

"Anton is bringing a date tonight to the party. In fact, he's been dating a lot again these past days and it doesn't look like he'll be ready for anything serious at all anytime soon—" She would have continued had Ginny not interrupted her with a hasty sigh and forced laugh.

"I—I _know_ that, Harry! I know he is…That's _exactly_ why I have to be there later! This is a strictly professional situation! I'm going there to scoop him for a new story! I don't care that he's dating again – in fact! I'm _GLAD_ he is! That way, there's more to him I can write about for a good gossip story, right?" She laughed loudly – her voice sounding somewhat ragged and heavy.

"Isn't he supposedly dating that gorgeous prima ballerina…? What was her name… Marie-Claire Francois?" Hermione asked bluntly, muffling a smirk when Ginny's face flushed red in restrained anger. The red-headed woman looked like she wanted to strangle Hermione's neck but instead, she looked up and gave them all a sugary sweet smile.

"I couldn't care less, Hermione! I will _also _be bringing a hot date tonight for the party and I'll be so busy with _HIM _that I won't even notice Anton there—"

"We never implied anything, Ginny…" Neville interrupted her bluntly with an amused grin, rolling his eyes when Ginny looked even more embarrassed upon hearing his words.

"W—Well! I—I was just—"

Harry didn't attempt to press the matter further and neither did anyone else. They all hid a smile and pretended to pick at the food on their plate. After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Hermione spoke up again and looked up from her plate towards Harry.

"Hey…Harry…? _You _eat liver, right? Can you take this? I can't stand it…I think it's absolutely disgusting." Hermione complained out loud, wrinkling her nose in distaste and indicating to the small piece on her plate with her fork.

Harry rolled her eyes but nodded and held her plate out to the other girl.

"Yeah, yeah…Give it to me then. You girls are always wasting food all the time. I swear, if only I had my guy body back I could probably eat _twice_ the amount of food I could now—"

She stopped and cut herself off right in the middle of her sentence, suddenly looking down at her food with a queasy expression on her face. The smell of the liver seemed almost intoxicating and was making her stomach churn in disgust until she could barely even look at it.

"_Merlin…Th—That's disgusting!_ Get that thing away from me!"

She pulled herself back and shoved the plate away from her as though it was the most revolting thing she had ever seen in her life. Her eyes had suddenly grown to the size of saucers and she felt a bitter, disgusting taste suddenly rising up into her throat.

"Harry…?"

At the sound of Hermione's concerned voice, Harry managed to look up for a split second and indicated frantically for her to move the plate of liver away from her. "Ugh! Get it away from me! Get it AWAY! That smells _horrible _and _disgusting! _Are you sure it's not spoiled?! Ugh…I think I'm going to be sick!" She spat out irritably, causing Ron and Neville to look at each other in confusion.

Ginny had also blinked at her in question and took the plate of liver into her hands, leaning down briefly to sniff at the offending dish. After a moment, she looked back up at Harry and raised an eyebrow at the other girl in question.

"It smells alright to me, Harry…Are you okay? You look a bit peaky." She observed, reaching forward and feeling the other girl's clammy forehead. Harry growled in annoyance and slapped her hands away, recoiling away again when the plate neared her.

"I—I'm fine—I SAID GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged somewhat suspicious looks while Ron and Neville were looking at Harry as though she had grown an extra head, their eyebrows raised in stunned confusion. "You okay, mate? Do you want me to ask the waitress for some more water?" Ron asked in concern, gesturing to the waitress behind them.

Harry shook her head and quickly got up from her seat when she felt another bitter, disgusting taste building up in her throat. "I—I'm fine, I just need to go to the bathroom for a minute. E—excuse me…" She bowed her head as she exited the table with slow, steady footsteps.

Hermione and Ginny watched her walking away from where they sat – both women's eyes already narrowing in growing suspicion. Unaware of their staring – about ten feet away from the bathroom door – Harry froze in the middle of walking, her eyes widening in nausea and disgust.

Both Hermione and Ginny had to bite back a squeal of surprise when their former male friend suddenly clamped one hand firmly over her mouth and another over her stomach. She broke out into a frantic run, shoving and twisting around several people along the way to the bathroom in her growing panic.

The boys also saw this and although they exchanged worried glances over Harry's possible condition, they shrugged and turned back to their plate of dessert – completely unaware of the way Hermione and Ginny were practically jumping in their seats with excitement.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione turned equally excited, twinkling brown eyes to a beaming Ginny. "Oh my _god, _Ginny! Harry! She's finally— She's _preg—_"

"Oh thank _Merlin! _Hermione! Ron! You're both here!"

Hermione's squeal was cut right off as all four Gryffindors whirled around and caught sight of a somewhat haggled-looking _Regina Vallehan Black_ rushing into the restaurant. Little baby James was cradled carefully in one of her arms while a truckload of shopping bags and groceries were haphazardly balanced in the other – justifying the look of pure exhaustion on Regina's face.

Upon seeing the former Gryffindors there, she rushed over to them and set the grocery bags down on the floor near the table. Carefully shifting a cooing James onto her other arm, she looked up through her slightly tangled red hair and managed a weak smile.

"H—Hermione…I—I'm sorry for ladling this onto you all of a sudden but could you watch James and my groceries for me for about fifteen minutes while I go and withdraw from my Gringgotts account? _Please?_" She practically begged, her smile looking slightly strained with exhaustion. Hermione took pity on the older woman and nodded comfortingly, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Of course, Regina…Where's Sirius? Doesn't he usually help you out with all your weekly errands?" She asked as she allowed Regina to deposit a giggling _James Regulus Black_ into her arms, wincing when the toddler kicked her lightly in the shin.

Regina gave her a thoroughly grateful smile and used a single white handkerchief to wipe herself off. "He's been off on a short business conference for the last two nights. He should be back tonight for the Malfoys' Anniversary party." She paused to take a deep breath, turning to give her wildly squirming son an amused smile.

"Keep an eye on him, Hermione…I have to warn you. Little James _certainly_ inherited his father's love for mischief _and _his godmother's knack for trouble." She said this with a slightly exasperated tone of voice, causing all four former Gryffindors to chuckle at her words.

"Where's Keira, Miss Regina…? She loves going to Diagon Alley right…?" Ron asked in surprise, glancing around for the adorable eight-year-old in question. Regina laughed gently and offered him a thankful smile at the question. "She's staying over at Isabella's this week…I swear, those two are absolutely _inseparable_ these days." She explained, chuckling and glancing briefly at her watch.

Her eyes widened and she turned her apologetic gaze back to Hermione. "Anyway, I'd better get going if I want to be done by fifteen minutes. Thanks again for watching him, Hermione! I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise!" She rushed out, smiling gratefully at the others before nodding and hastily exiting the restaurant.

James' wide gray eyes followed his mother out the door. For a minute, he looked as though he was about to cry – his lower lip trembling and his eyes slowly filling up with unshed tears. Just as he looked about ready to burst out into loud, angry wails, Harry chose that moment to arrive back on the scene – looking slightly better than she had moments ago.

At the sight of her baby godson, she immediately exclaimed in a loud, cheerful voice and rushed over to gather little James into her arms. "Hey! _There's _my handsome little godson!" She took him from Hermione's arms and tossed him lightly into the air.

James instantly forgot about what he was going to cry about and burst into giggles at the sight of his godmother, squealing happily and wrapping his chubby baby hands around her neck. Hermione laughed as she watched them, noting the affectionate aura and natural charm Harry seemed to have around children.

The Malfoy Mistress ruffled James' mane of messy black hair and planted a kiss on his forehead. "What are you doing here, kiddo? Where's your mother?" She looked around the restaurant for Regina but Hermione shook her head and answered her question for her.

"Regina dropped him off about three minutes ago so she could go off to Gringgotts…" Hermione let her voice trail off uncertainly to exchange a meaningful glance with Ginny. They both nodded to each other as though in silent agreement before Hermione turned back to Harry and gave her a careful look.

"So…Harry? Are you feeling a little better now? Why did you suddenly rush off to the bathroom like that anyway?" She asked, keeping her face innocently neutral as she continued to watch Harry tossing James into the air.

By now, Ron and Neville looked absolutely confused and were alternating their gazes from Hermione to Ginny in periodic intervals. Both girls ignored them and exchanged another set of unspoken words with each other with several nods and excited winks.

Harry gave Hermione a distracted smile. "Much better, 'Mione. Thanks. Although, keep that plate of liver away from me! For some reason, the very sight of it makes me sick." She added as an afterthought, rolling her eyes when Ron shrugged and instantly pulled the plate towards him.

"Suit yourself, Harry…More for me then." He replied with a grin. Ginny rolled her eyes at him before turning back to give Harry an all-too-knowing smile.

"Harry…If you don't mind my asking, have you been feeling a bit drained and tired lately? More than usual, I mean…?" Ginny asked out loud, holding back a laugh when Neville finally caught on to what they were doing. He turned and gaped at Harry in shocked stupor.

"O—Oh Merlin—!"

"Whaargh?" Ron managed to ask through a mouth full of food, looking up and giving them all a clueless stare. All three Gryffindors ignored him and watched Harry intently with eerily wide smiles bordering along the lines of 'obsessively creepy' until Harry finally couldn't take it anymore. She removed her attention from James long enough to give them a wary look.

. "Huh…? Oh! Uhm…Yeah, I suppose so, Ginny. Although that's expected. I've been really swamped with work lately and I haven't gotten much sleep." She answered in another distracted tone of voice, shrugging and laughing when James blurted random words out loud as though in protest.

"Maaaa! Baaa? Gooooo!"

"How about fainting spells, Harry…? Have you fainted any time today or the past couple of days?" Hermione followed up persistently, gesturing firmly for Neville to keep quiet. Ginny muffled an amused giggle when Harry's eyes finally flashed in growing irritation at all the seemingly innocent and intrusive questions they were asking her.

"Now that you mention it, I _have _fainted twice today but…Hermione…Ginny... What is this really all about?" Harry's attention shifted from James to settle on both girls' faces. Her green eyes narrowed slowly in suspicion when she caught the unreadable glance the two girls exchanged.

Hermione bit her lip while Ginny looked across the table at Neville and gave him a conspiratorial smile. Ron, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what was going on and was glaring at them with the same amount of suspicion and utter confusion Harry felt.

"What?! What's going on? Why are you all smiling so creepily like that? Am I missing something, here?!" Ron blurted out, his blue eyes darting back and forth between his friends. When they couldn't seem to find the right words to say, Harry rolled her eyes and shifted her attention back to James just as he began to tug on her hair.

"_Women…_I'm surprised at you, Neville. I've been a woman for more than three years now and I _still _don't understand them. How is it that _YOU _can?" Harry kidded lightly as she began tossing James into the air again. Neville looked as though he was going to protest against her quip when Hermione finally caved into her nervousness and snapped at Harry in panic.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Harry! Will you be careful with him?! You're handling him like a bloody QUAFFLE!" She shot up from her seat and took James into her own arms, tutting in disapproval when James merely giggled at the look of bewilderment on his godmother's face.

Harry blinked at Hermione's fuming glare and shrugged sheepishly, ducking her head behind her hand. "What are you talking about, Hermione? I was handling him just _fine!_ He seemed to enjoy it! Look, he wants me to carry him again!" She indicated to the way James was clapping his hands gleefully and reaching his hands out toward her again.

Ron snorted at this behind his glass of water and gave Harry a meaningful smirk. "I guess maternal instincts don't come with the new female body huh, Harry?" He asked pointedly, earning a laugh from Neville when both boys saw the irritated expression on Harry's face.

Ginny chose that exact moment to speak up again, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously as she shot up from her seat and walked slowly towards Harry's unsuspecting form. "_Speaking_ of maternal instincts…Don't you think it's about time you brushed up on _yours, _Harry?" She hinted slowly, looking up and meeting Hermione's eyes over Harry's shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Ginny? I _have_ no maternal instincts—" Her voice broke off when she glanced at her wristwatch. "—_BLOODY HELL!_ It's a quarter past 1! Why didn't anyone tell me?! Ashford is going to _KILL _me! I was supposed to have been back five minutes ago!" She began gathering her things back into her bag, pausing briefly to lean down and plant a kiss of goodbye on Hermione and Ginny's cheeks.

Hermione looked frustrated and tried to push Ginny's unanswered question further. "B—But, _WAIT!_ Harry, Ginny was trying to tell you something important! Don't you think you should listen—" Harry shook her head frantically and slung her backpack over her shoulder, leaning down to give baby James an affectionate pinch on the cheek.

"Tell me about it later at the party, alright? I really have to go now!" She glanced back up and gave Ron and Neville a friendly wave and nod. "I'll see you guys later, then?" She stopped and turned to James one last time, reaching down to ruffle the thin mane of black hair on his head.

"I'll see you later kiddo. And don't listen to what your Aunt Hermione says! I do _not_ handle you like a Quaffle and you _like _it when your godmother tosses you into the air right? It gets you used to the feeling of falling off your broom in Quidditch!" She kidded, failing to see the look of matching frustration on Hermione and Ginny's faces.

"_HARRY—"_

James answered Harry with a squeal and baby giggle, reaching his tiny hands up and rewarding her with a rather sloppy kiss on the cheek. Unfortunately, the smile on his face suddenly transformed into a nauseated wince for the briefest second and before Harry could notice this or pull away, James had leaned down and vomited what used to be baby milk all over his godmother's robes.

Ron, Ginny and Neville all burst out laughing at the look of utter revulsion on Harry's face, watching as she took a step away from the toddler in disgust. The newest Marauder seemed to enjoy his godmother's reaction and was giggling harder, clapping his hands gleefully to himself.

Harry took out a handkerchief and began to wipe at the mess on her robes with a slight cringe on her face. "Brilliant…_Thank you, _James. Showing up with baby vomit all over my uniform will certainly make Ashford less mad at me." She mumbled under her breath.

"Gooooo!"

At the sight of Hermione's smirk and the look of plain 'I-told-you-so' written all over her smug features, Harry cut her off just as she was going to open her mouth.

"_DON'T_ even say it!"

* * *

_Where the bloody hell is that little minx?! I'm going to strangle her the moment she gets here! Stupid Gryffindor!_ Draco thought furiously to himself as his silver eyes scanned the entire ballroom of guests and aristocrats for any sign of his wife.

It was half past nine that night and Jaimee was _STILL _nowhere in sight, something that Draco _nor_ the rest of the Malfoys certainly did not fail to notice. The whole of elite Wizarding society barely saw the young Malfoy Head without the company of his beautiful wife these days so Draco was more than certain the guests were aware of Jaimee's absence as well.

Glancing up over his glass of champagne, Draco caught a glimpse of his father and his grandparents over by the front of the ballroom conversing with some of their family friends. His mother was off to the far side of the room chatting with the wives of other aristocratic families.

Seeing him looking at her, Narcissa hurriedly beckoned him over, causing Draco to wince and shake his head hastily in refusal. When she gave him an angry glare, he sighed, grabbed another glass of champagne and reluctantly walked over to them.

Narcissa wrapped her arm proudly around his shoulders when he reached them and gestured him over to some of her friends. "Ladies, you all know my son – Draco? He's recently just taken over my husband's former position in MMC." She told them proudly, causing the other women to give the new Malfoy head a look-over and a well-practiced smile.

Draco returned their smiles with a fake, charming one of his own. "A pleasure to see you all again, ladies." He acknowledged, reaching over and planting an obligatory kiss on each of their white gloved hands. Rowena Parkinson, Pansy's mother and one of his mother's old friends, raised an eyebrow and gave Draco an inquisitive glance.

"So…Draco…? I was just telling Cissy here about my new beloved grandson, Baxter. Pansy's completely besotted with him these days…" She stopped and smirked as all the other women around the circle now peered closely at Draco's stiff smile in anticipation of her next words.

"…When are _you _thinking of providing another possible Malfoy heir?"

It took all of Draco's self-control and 17 years of his aristocratic upbringing for him not to wipe the sneer off Rowena Parkinson's face by making a snide, scathing comment about her supposed 'beloved grandson'. Instead, he met his mother's apologetic glance with an assuring smirk.

"…Soon, Auntie Rowena. It shouldn't take that long. After all… Shagging my wife for about seven to eight times a day would most probably increase her chances of conception. Don't you all think so?" He answered bluntly, his charming smile betraying the snide amusement in his eyes when he heard the sharp gasps of scandalized horror on the other women's faces.

Narcissa also looked shocked at his outburst but was trying to hide a smile behind her handkerchief at the way her devious son had handled the situation. As though nothing had happened, Draco turned back to give his mother an affectionate kiss on her cheek.

"Mother, if you'll excuse me….I must speak with Father for a few moments about something. Ladies…?" The former Slytherin turned back and graced the now blushing and embarrassed women around him with another one of his handsome smiles. "If you'll excuse me…"

Just as he turned to walk away, he and his mother shared a brief hint of a smirk that went unnoticed by the rest of the women around them. Downing the rest of his drink in a single gulp, he headed over to where his father and grandparents now stood conversing with each other at the end of the ballroom.

As soon as he got there, Genevieve looked up and rewarded her eldest grandson with a beaming smile and affectionate hug. "Draco, sweetheart! You are looking very handsome tonight! You remind of me of your grandfather when he was your age!" She gushed happily, earning a laugh from both Lucius and Draco when they saw the look of irritation on Lawrence's face.

"You said the same thing about Lucius ten minutes ago, Genevieve. Make up your mind, why don't you?" He drawled, causing his wife to give him an admonishing glare. "Well I can't help it! He's an exact carbon copy of you _AND _Lucius!" She ignored Lawrence's answering smirk and gave Draco a confused look when she noticed that he was alone.

"B—But…? Where's Jaimee?! Where's my beautiful granddaughter-in-law?! Draco Lucius Malfoy! Don't tell me you had another argument with her tonight! What did you do _this _time?! I'm going to be cross with you! This is _our _anniversary and I expected her to be here—"

"We didn't fight. She'll be here soon, grandmother." Draco interrupted her angry tirade with a fond chuckle, smiling when his grandmother seemed to calm after his answer and nodded firmly as though to warn him. "That's right! You'd better not have fought with her again, Draco. You know how stubborn you are sometimes, you're just like your father! Why, I remember the time when he—"

"Mother_, _lets not get into that shall we?_" _Lucius pointed out in mild irritation, much to his son's amusement as Draco turned and saw the look of rare embarrassment on his father's normally regal face. Lawrence heard their exchange and raised an eyebrow at Draco in query.

"Where _is _Jaimee, Draco…? She should know better than to arrive late at parties like this. It is the responsibility of the current Master and Mistress of the Malfoy family to always be on time on family occasions in order not to—"

"—upstage the family name. Yes I'm well aware of that unspoken rule of punctuality, Grandfather." Draco finished for the other man in a deadpan voice, rolling his eyes to himself. He ignored the glare his father sent him and looked up to meet Lawrence's smirk with one of his own.

"I'll be sure to tell her that when she arrives. Besides, it's not like she was brought up with that mindset like the rest of the family was. It would actually be more unacceptable if it had been _me _or any other of the Malfoy sons who had been late—"

_"Sorry I'm late! Sorry I'm late! What did I miss?!" _

As much as he wanted to, Draco could no longer finish the rest of his sentence. His left eye twitched in irritation as they all looked up at the sight of one very frantic Byron Malfoy rushing into the ballroom toward them, his tuxedo collar unbuttoned and his hair slightly tossled in some areas.

At the sight of the other Malfoy son's unacceptably disheveled state, Lucius and Lawrence looked slightly less than pleased while Genevieve's lips twitched in amusement. She watched as Byron smiled and greeted his way through the crowd of bewildered guests along the dance floor.

When he saw them from across the room, the metamorphagus looked up and met their shocked faces with a handsome, sheepish grin. He hurriedly made his way through the crowd toward them while trying to button his sleeves and collar at the same time.

Byron winked at Draco's fuming glare at him before leaning over and giving Genevieve a kiss on the cheek. "Happy 35th anniversary, Grandmother! Grandfather!" He beamed, enveloping her in a warm, affectionate hug and nodding to his grandfather in greeting.

Genevieve hugged him back tightly with a warm smile, looking over his shoulder and shooting the other three men a quelling glare when they looked as though they were going to reprimand him. Byron noticed this and looked back up at them, giving the three blonde Malfoys a nervous smile.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I meant to arrive here sooner but I got caught up at work and—"

"Byron, are you wearing _eyeliner?!_"

Byron's eyes widened at Draco's hissed question, laughing nervously and stepping back when the blonde peered closer towards his face to inspect his eyes. Fortunately, the three older Malfoys seemed not to have heard Draco's question and began to converse amongst themselves.

Byron backed away a couple more steps from his glaring cousin and hastily turned around so he could wipe at the black outlines around his eyes. "I—I don't know what you're talking about, Draco! Don't be silly! I'm a guy! I wouldn't be wearing _eyeliner_ or—"

"_Lipstick?!"_

The rest of Byron's sentence ended in a choked-up squeak when Draco's silver orbs suddenly widened in shocked realization. He pointed a shaky finger at Byron's cringing face in horror, causing the metamorphagus to turn around hastily again so he could wipe at the remaining traces of purple left on his lips.

"Th—that wasn't lipstick! Th—that was…._icing_! I was eating cake awhile ago!"

"_PURPLE _cake?!"

Draco growled in frustration when Byron merely grinned at him again and pretended not to have heard him. The Malfoy Head turned around briefly to make sure his father or grandparents didn't hear his next words before voicing out the rest of his suspicions in a mortified whisper.

"_BYRON!_ You're wearing _EYELINER_ and _LIPSTICK_! What have you been doing?! _WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"_ Draco looked as though he was trying very hard not to shout, causing Byron to laugh at his panicked expression and shrug at him in response.

"Alright, alright! I was _undercover_! I was in this bar in Japan posing as a cosplayer." He suddenly grinned at this and slung an arm over the older Malfoy's shoulder so he could whisper into his ear. "Did you know that the men in Japan are _REALLY _pretty? I was _this_—" He indicated a tiny length with his thumb and forefinger. "—close to making out with one of them. He was _REALLY _beautiful for a man and—"

Draco sputtered incoherently and shrugged his arm off, his eyes flashing when he heard the lighthearted humor in his cousin's voice. "I couldn't care less if the men in Japan were _half-women, _Byron! If _YOU _were undercover in Japan tonight, where is my _WIFE?!_" He demanded angrily, reaching up and grabbing the other Malfoy by the front of his collar.

Byron cringed as Draco began dragging him away against his will to the far corner of the room. Once they were out of anyone's range of hearing, he turned around and leveled his younger cousin with a fierce, intimidating glare that would have sent anyone else running.

"_Byron…Where…Is…Harry?!" _

Instead of answering him, Byron's golden brown eyes flicked past Draco's shoulder in obvious avoidance of his question. Draco was seething with anger and opened his mouth to ask him again but Byron cut him off by waving madly to someone behind him and exclaiming in a loud, cheerful voice.

"HEY! Isn't that Anton over there? I have to talk to him! HEY! ANTON, OVER HERE!"

Byron waved almost maniacally to a slightly confused Anton standing all the way on the other side of the ballroom. Anton took one look at Draco's furious face before raising an eyebrow in suspicion, shaking his head in blatant refusal at Byron's enthusiastic beckoning for him to join them.

It was at this point that Draco finally exploded.

"BYRON, WHERE IS MY WIFE?!!!! IF YOU DON'T TELL ME RIGHT _NOW_, I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU MAIMED_—"_

The younger Malfoy son whirled around, grabbed another glass of vodka from a passing house-elf and began running away from his older cousin towards the other side of the ballroom as fast as humanely possible.

* * *

"Have you been a bad boy, Mr. Hastings…?"

Jaimee quirked the corners of her lips into a seductive smirk as she walked slowly towards the dark-haired, leering man seated on the large bed in front of her. His dark, bloodshot eyes roamed hungrily over her body, lingering on the curves exposed by her tight leather dress.

He sneered as she approached him, sitting up straighter and allowing her a glimpse of his dark hairy chest as exposed by his opened, long-sleeved shirt. Jaimee tried very hard not to wince in disgust at this, hiding her revulsion behind a forced, coy chuckle.

She stopped in front of him and hoisted a single, heeled black boot up onto the foot of the bed. The gesture got the response she was aiming for as a generous portion of her long, slim leg was exposed to his lustful eyes. She trailed a hand seductively up her thigh, the other one reaching for the leather whip hung over one of the tall posts of the large bed.

He watched her movements with perverted smirk and trailed his eyes up and down her body.

"And so perhaps I have been bad, darling…Are you going to punish me for it?" He asked in a husky voice, emitting a low chuckle when she answered him with a seemingly innocent fluttering of her long eyelashes.

"Do you want me to…?" She responded easily, cringing inwardly when she heard her own disgusting words in her ears. Noting silently to herself that his wand and weapons were all in the pockets of his pants, she smiled at him and slowly began to unroll the whip in her hands.

The action seemed to distract him perfectly as his eyes followed her fingers carefully, unaware of the way her eyes flicked over him in search of other possible weapons or dangerous enchantments. When she confirmed all this, she finally chuckled and walked over to the lamp beside the bed – bending down and adjusting the light so that a seductive yellow glow was cast upon the room.

Hastings seemed to enjoy this action and took that opportunity to check out her arse just before she straightened up and shook her finger coyly at him as though in admonishment. "Naughty, naughty…" Again, Jaimee had to restrain herself from cringing in absolute self-disgust.

_I've really hit an all-time low with this undercover mission. Ugh…If anybody ever finds out what I'm doing right now, I'll never be able live with myself._ She thought miserably, walking back towards the entrance of the bedchambers.

She was easily aware of Hastings' beady eyes on her arse and legs as she walked – the heels of her leather boots clicking noisily in a seductive rhythm along the floor's wooden surface. As soon as she was in front of the door, she whipped out her wand from underneath her skirt and discreetly began casting several silencing and locking charms on the entire room.

Once she had done this, she turned back around and rewarded Hastings with another gorgeous smile. "We wouldn't want any of your bodyguards hearing any screams now, would we Mr. Hastings…?" She asked suggestively, giggling when he leered back at her in agreement.

"Call me Alex, darling…"

Jaimee felt an irresistible urge to punch him in the gut at the word 'darling' but held herself back and slowly made her way towards him again. She noticed that his lecherous gaze seemed to be taking in the way the leather of her short, strapless dress was pushing her breasts up and was clinging tightly onto every single feminine curve of her body.

When he looked as though he was going to stand up from where he sat on the large bed towards her, Jaimee sneered, raised a foot and forced him back down by pressing the heel of her boot against his chest. "_Down…_Boy…" She drawled teasingly, chuckling when the man smirked at her words and nodded, leaning back down on his elbows on the bed in lazy anticipation.

She used that same position to lean closer towards him, reaching a single hand to unclasp the clip holding her hair up in place. Long, soft tresses of black hair fell down in sexy waves to frame her face – illuminating the bright glow of her magically altered and heavily eye-lined blue eyes. Hastings whistled wolfishly at this, the smile on his face widening slowly as he watched her.

"You are gorgeous, baby…Punish me."

_You sick, perverted bastard._

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she used one hand to idly twist the long leather whip she was holding around her fingers. She looked down at him through narrowed eyes, raising the whip and bringing it down noisily onto the wooden floor with a resounding 'snap!'.

_"_Get up! I want you on your knees on the floor NOW!_" _She ordered in a brisk, commanding tone of voice – hiding a disgusted shudder when her outburst seemed to excite Hastings immensely. He jumped off the bed and knelt down hastily onto the floor with a wide, suggestive grin.

He reached a hand up to grab at her arse but she snapped her whip down hard on the floor again in warning, causing him to wince at the sound and pull his hand back. Glaring down authoritatively at him, she stretched the whip out with her two hands in a loud snap.

When he looked as though he was about to reach up and touch her again, she shook her head in warning and walked very slowly behind his kneeled form, making sure the heels of her boots echoed in another seductive rhythm within the silence of the bedroom.

"I'm the boss, Hastings! First… Your wand! I want you to throw it onto the floor!"

He looked suspicious at her strange command and looked as though he was about to refuse had Jaimee not followed her statement up by walking in front of him and purposely giving him a good view of her arse by bending down and scooping a pair of handcuffs off the floor.

"I want you to _relinquish _yourself to me entirely tonight, _Alex_…" She drawled slowly as she stood back up and gestured to the handcuffs with a playful smile. He still looked slightly hesitant at her request but only until she quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a sexy smirk.

That seemed to do the trick as Hastings feigned a helpless sigh and chuckled to himself, reaching into the pocket of his pants to pull out his wand. "Very well…Then I'm at your complete mercy, darling…Do whatever you want with me tonight." He murmured as he tossed both his wand and the rest of his weapons onto the wooden floor in front of him.

He looked up and watched as Jaimee bit her lip teasingly and walked back over to stand in front of him, leaning down to hang her whip around his neck.

"Oh believe me, Hastings…I _will…_"

She chuckled again and walked behind his kneeling form, bending down and using the muggle handcuffs to chain his hands together behind his back. Once she had done this and bound his wrists firmly together, she finally knelt down behind him, placed her hands lingeringly onto his bare shoulders and leaned down to murmur something into his ear.

"…Mr. Alexander Hastings…" She paused when she felt him shudder in arousal at the sound of her breathless whisper.

"Yes, darling…?"

Carefully gathering his wand and the rest of his weapons off the floor, Harry allowed a triumphant smirk to cross her face.

"You're…Under…Arrest."

* * *

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BITCH! MY ASSOCIATES AND BODYGUARDS ARE ABOUT TO RUSH IN ANY MINUTE NOW—"

Harry cut off Hastings' angry screaming with a derisive scoff as she walked back calmly to her bag near the door and began to retie her hair into a neat ponytail. She ignored the rather creative names he shouted at her and walked over to the window, pointing her wand right out at the sky.

A single beam of silver light shot out from the tip of her wand into the dark night as a signal to the waiting Aurors just outside the building. Once she had done this, she turned back and returned Hastings' hideous snarl at her with a taunting wink.

"I don't think so, Hastings…You see, I cast all the necessary silencing, locking and sealing charms when I came in here. Unless they think you're not enjoying your disgusting little perverted fantasies in here with me, I think nobody is going to come rushing in here for about another hour or so." She followed this up with a conspiratorial smile.

"The Aurors should be arriving here in about five minutes to take you to Azkaban."

"This is _RIDICULOUS!_ I haven't been doing anything illegal!"

"Manufacturing and smuggling 10 types of Ministry restricted red-label potions…Use of the Imperius and Cruciatus Curse. Blackmail. Fraud and bribery." Harry paused to slip her large trench coat back over her scantily clad form and tied the sash securely around her waist. She turned around one last time and gave him a smirk.

"Take it from me, Hastings…Sometimes, playing around with women can be even more dangerous than facing a _basilisk._ It took me _THREE _years of being a woman for me to learn that."

Hastings' face clouded over in confusion and he looked at her as though she was insane.

"_WHAT?!_ A woman for _THREE YEARS?! _What does THAT mean—MOTHER OF MERLIN! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING—"

Harry never heard the rest of his horrified scream as she turned around, pulled her wand of her pocket and jumped right out the top window of a thirty story building. A few meters above the building's sidewalk, she raised her wand and cast a spell over herself to slow down her descent, lowering herself easily down onto the flow with effortless ease.

As soon the heels of her leather boots had clicked once against the sidewalk's cemented surface in a neat, agile landing, she looked up and met the completely stunned look of one of the waiting valet personnel in front of her with a calm smile.

"…Taxi?"

* * *

"Grandfather…Grandmother, I'd like to introduce you to my lovely date for the evening. I believe you may recognize her to be this ballet season's prima ballerina… Marie-Claire Francois."

_IT'S TEN, DAMN IT! POTTER, WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?!_

Draco barely paid any attention to Anton's smug voice as his cousin continued to introduce the beautiful, petite brunette on his arm to the older Malfoys gathered around them in a small, tight circle. Right in the middle of the crowd, Draco tried to listen to the rest of his family's lively responses towards this but his attention kept flicking back to the entrance of the ballroom every five minutes.

"Draco! Long time no see! I had hoped you'd have gotten killed or eaten by a hippogriff by now." A familiar voice suddenly spoke up from behind him, causing Draco's eyes to flash in annoyance as he whirled around and found himself facing Sirius Black's obviously plastered smile.

"Black…What a…_pleasant…_surprise to see you back from your trip. Couldn't you have stayed away longer?" Draco answered in an equally sarcastic drawl, nodding in acknowledgment to Regina as she walked up behind Sirius to join their conversation.

She silenced the ex-marauder with a glare before giving Draco a warm smile. "Please excuse my husband, Draco. You know how he can get sometimes. Where's Jaimee? Shouldn't she be here by now?" She asked in concern, unknowingly causing Draco's jaw to clench in mild irritation.

Sirius' eyes darkened angrily and he gave Draco a venomous scowl. "You'd better be taking good care of my goddaughter, Malfoy. The minute I find out she's unhappy with you or that you're hurting her in _any _way, I'm going to slice your crotch right off—"

"Sirius, why don't we go over there and talk to some of my old friends from school?" Regina quickly cut the rest of Sirius' threat off and gave Draco an overly bright smile. "We'll talk to you later, Draco." She added hastily as she tugged on her husband's arm and dragged him hurriedly away before he could initiate other argument with the young Malfoy Head.

The minute they had left, Draco walked back over to where Byron was conversing with some of his old friends from school, pulled him aside and hissed angrily under his breath again.

"Byron, it's been an entire _HOUR _and I am starting to get really worried! _Where _is Harry and why isn't she here yet?!" Draco demanded in a scathing whisper, clenching his hands into fists when Byron finally bit his lip and forced himself to respond to his question.

The younger Malfoy shifted nervously under Draco's accusatory glare but managed to answer him in a steady whisper. "Alright…Don't get mad alright? I'm starting to get a little worried myself." He added, flinching away when Draco practically blew up at his words.

"MAD ABOUT WHAT?! BYRON, WHAT THE HELL HAS SHE BEEN DOING NOW—"

Byron shushed him hastily by waving his hand at his face, looking around and flashing a nervous, charming smile at the guests that had suddenly turned at the sound of Draco's frantic voice. When they looked away, he sighed and turned back to level Draco with a calming gaze.

"Ashford sent us all out on individual missions tonight. She probably just got held up or something, I'm sure she's fine. She fainted this morning but she looked okay when she left—"

The fire in Draco's eyes suddenly melted away into fear when he heard this and he raised a hand up to silence the rest of Byron's sentence. Realizing his mistake, Byron winced again and was about to correct himself when Draco beat him to it and asked another question.

"Wait, wait…Harry _fainted_ this morning? When? How? Why?! Is she okay? What happened? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" The questions seemed to fly out of his mouth all at once before Draco could stop himself, causing Byron to smirk at him in amusement when he saw the unmistakable concern on his cousin's normally nonchalant face.

He chuckled and raised a hand to pat his cousin comfortingly on his shoulder. "Relax, stud…She's fine. You know it was probably _your _fault she fainted – you shouldn't exhaust her too much in bed all the time, Draco. She hardly gets any sleep! I mean, there's probably some rule out there about shagging your wife too much as being illegal – you should go check up on it—"

"_BYRON…"_

Byron laughed when he heard the dangerous threat in Draco's voice.

"She said she was just tired, Draco. Look, stop worrying. I'm sure she's fine and on her way to the party right now as we speak."

* * *

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit…_

Harry fidgeted impatiently as she glanced at her watch and cringed when she noted that she was now officially an _hour _late. Looking back up at the muggle taxi driver seated in front of her, she groaned and slapped a hand over her forehead when she saw the car jammed street through the taxi's front window.

_Oh Merlin's bloody beard…Where's the nearest apparition point from here?_ She began digging anxiously through her bag for her apparition map, pulling it out and nearly ripping it open in her agitation. The muggle driver in front of her noticed her panic and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I—I'm sorry miss but it looks like we won't be going anywhere for awhile. The traffic is really bad in this street at this time of night." He told her, causing her to groan out loud in frustration. "Ugh…Is that so? U—uhm…listen—" Harry paused briefly and glanced back at the map spread out on her lap to pinpoint the nearest apparition point – an old phone booth in the back alley of a muggle street in London.

"Sir…H—How far are we from Aberfeldy Street?" She looked up at him through the car mirror and shoved her map back hastily into her bag. The muggle driver gave her another apologetic grimace and shook his head in dismay.

"About another four blocks from here."

"DAMN IT!"

Harry cursed out loud and buried her face into her hands in dismay. A couple of seconds and one quick decision later, she finally took a deep, shaky breath and frantically began to gather her things back into her hands. The muggle driver looked slightly surprised at this and blinked several times when she reached up and offered him the payment for her ride.

"Th—thanks for your help, Sir. I think I'll get off here and run the rest of the way." She told him, causing the driver to look at her as though she was insane. "Are you barking_ mad, _lady? That's FOUR blocks you're planning on running! No creature on this earth could get me to run that distance!" He exclaimed but Harry was already climbing out the door and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Slamming the door of the taxi shut, she winced and loosened the zipper on her boots for a minute before turning back around and giving the confused driver a grim smile.

"Yeah well…Try a fire breathing _DRAGON_._" _

* * *

"Draco, have you noticed anything strange about Harry lately? You know..Anything unusual about her eating patterns? Mood swings? Sleeping behavior?" Hermione asked nonchalantly as she watched Draco craning his neck every three minutes towards the ballroom entrance from where he and Blaise were standing near the refreshment table.

Draco gave her a distracted glare and seemed not to have fully understood her question. "Huh?! Did you say something? What the bloody hell are you talking about, Granger?" He snapped, turning around briefly to level her with an irritated look.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his reaction and spoke up in a louder voice. "I was asking you about _HARRY._ Have you noticed anything different about her lately? Eating patterns…? Frequent bouts of exhaustion, perhaps…?" She shared a knowing smirk with Blaise beside her and watched as her husband followed her question up with one of his own.

"…Hey Draco…You haven't been exhausting Potter these days, have you? She looked really tired the last time I saw her…But strangely enough she was also _glowing_ wasn't she?" His voice was tinged with a hint of amusement but sadly, Draco failed to notice it altogether. The former Slytherin was too busy glaring fierce daggers at any poor soul who happened to pass through the ballroom entrance that wasn't Harry.

Draco regarded both their questions with another distracted glare and slammed his fourth empty glass of vodka onto the table in front of them.

"Not you too, Zabini! Look, I don't CARE if there's some bloody law that makes shagging too much illegal! I'm not doing anything wrong just because I like to have sex with my wife!" He snapped at them, causing Blaise to spit out the whole mouthful of vodka he had just taken in onto the floor.

"_EXCUSE ME?!_"

Hermione looked as though she was having difficulty breathing from holding in her laughter at Draco's misunderstanding of their questions. Stifling her giggles behind her hand, she patted her sputtering husband consolingly on the arm and looked back up at Draco to try again.

"That's not what Blaise meant, Draco. We were just wondering if you noticed lately that…Well…Her appetite has been really irregular. She's also been having a lot of unexplainable mood swings…Is she…Is she _late?_"

Draco rolled his eyes again, obviously failing to understand a single word she was saying.

"Are you DAFT?! _OF COURSE SHE'S LATE! _Otherwise I wouldn't be straining my bloody neck by flicking my head between the damn entrance and my watch every five minutes!" He snarled this out at her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

That seemed to do it for Blaise as the Zabini Head finally turned away from his wife and best friend and burst into loud, heavily amused laughter. Hermione didn't appreciate this and nudged him sharply, looking up and shooting Draco a thoroughly exasperated glare.

"That was NOT what I meant, you IDIOT! I'm asking if she's—"

"Granger, _NOT NOW—"_

The rest of Draco's irate retort was cut short when all three former Hogwartians finally heard a familiar feminine voice speaking up sheepishly from the direction of the ballroom entrance.

"SORRY! I'm so sorry I'm late!"

* * *

Harry stumbled clumsily through the ballroom entrance with an easily plastered smile on her face, looking up and meeting the hundreds of eyes around the ballroom that had fallen on her upon her entrance. Flashing them all a charming smile, she hastily adjusted the green strapless evening gown she had thrown over her leather dress and walked slowly into the ballroom.

She spotted Byron, Anton and the rest of the Malfoy family near the far end of the room and waved casually at them in greeting. However, her eyebrows fused together in question when at the sight of her, Byron instantly burst out into poorly muffled laughter and began choking on his drink.

_What the hell…?_

Beside him, Anton's jaw was hanging open in shock as he stared at her – raising a hand blindly to slap Byron hard on his back when the metamorphagus began coughing and wheezing for breath. Byron coughed out a strangled 'thank you' at this but the minute he looked back up at her; he began laughing and choking again.

Pointedly choosing to ignore him, Harry tore her eyes away from them and allowed her gaze to travel _very _slowly around the sea of pale, shocked faces in the room – finally noticing for the first time that the entire ballroom seemed to have fallen into an eerie silence and all the guests were now staring at her in open, unblinking shock and scandalized horror.

Glancing further around the room, she noted that the musicians had all suddenly stopped playing at her arrival and that even the couples on the dance floor had stopped in the middle of their dancing and were also staring at her with stunned, gaping expressions – Ron and Lorraine included.

Feeling the blood in her own cheeks rushing out of her face in absolute horror, Harry's green eyes slowly widened to the size of saucers when she belatedly realized her mistake.

Gulping loudly and managing a nervous laugh, she allowed her gaze to drop down almost coyly to the…_black, knee-high leather boots_ she had unwittingly forgotten to take off and were now contrasting _horribly_ against the elegant silk material of her green gown.

_OH…SHIT…_

Swallowing the painful lump forming in her throat, Harry forced out a nervous giggle as she trailed her eyes back up and found herself the terrified recipient of a _very _horrifying death glare from one _very _angry and _very_ seething Draco Lucius Malfoy across the room.

_OH…FUCK…_

Trembling slightly in fear, she tore her gaze away from him and looked over his shoulder to where Lawrence and Genevieve Malfoy were staring at her with a mixture of shock and amusement – the shock coming from Genevieve and the amusement reluctantly coming from Lawrence.

Taking Lawrence's reaction as a positive sign, she waved at them in an exaggeratedly cheerful manner and blurted out helplessly in a high-pitched, cracking voice.

"_H—HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY!"_

Ignoring the distant sounds of Byron's – and this time _Blaise's – _muffled snorts of laughter, Harry hastily made her way over to where Lawrence and Genevieve stood with the rest of the older Malfoys and pulled her stunned grandmother-in-law into a tight hug – using the same gesture to hide her red face into the older woman's shoulder.

Lawrence peered down towards the two hugging women and gave Jaimee a reluctant smirk unseen by anyone else around them. "Jillian Aimee Malfoy…Do I _WANT_ to know…?"

Seeing the terrifying form of her furious husband looming dangerously closer towards her, Harry looked up from Genevieve's shoulder and gave Lawrence a rather amusing facial expression that made her look as though she wanted to laugh, run, and cry all at the same time.

"I don't think so…"

* * *

**A/N: **YES, I borrowed the scene with Jaimee in the leather dress from the movie **Mr. and Mrs. Smith** – specifically the really cool scene where Angelina Jolie jumps out the window of a tall building after an assignment. I also got the whole 'boots with dress' idea from the movie as well. Ehehe. I just thought the scene would be hilarious to write.

**Next Chapter: **Draco 'punishes' Harry (Can you all see the smirk on my face?), A little Anton/Ginny interaction, Draco finally picks up on Hermione and Blaise's little 'hints'

**DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE ME A REVIEW! CHEERS!**


	4. Ignorance and Ineloquence

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenesand **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Comments about the HP6 Movie: OMG! Fred and George were gorgeous! Tom Riddle was so FREAKING HOT! Wahaha! (Well at least I thought so!) And I so _CRIED_ when I saw the look of torment on Draco's face at the end of the movie! He and Snape are probably two of the most misunderstood characters in the entire HP series. :sigh: **Deleted scene URL is posted on my profile page.** Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Ignorance and Ineloquence **

_"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow—"_

Harry cringed as Draco literally dragged her by her ear away from the ballroom entrance down the long, luxurious hallways of Malfoy Manor. He didn't say anything as they turned a corner and he shoved her into his private office, slamming the door shut noisily behind them.

Once he was sure that he had cast all the necessary silencing/locking charms on the door and that nobody was standing outside in the hallway, he turned around and glared down at her nervously smiling face. She looked up and inspected the obsessively neat surroundings of the room – the traditional office assigned to every succeeding Head of the Malfoy family – in feigned interest.

"Wow…I keep forgetting this is _your_ office now. This used to be your father's right—"

Instead of answering her, Draco walked right up to her and shoved her backwards until she stumbled noisily against the front of his desk. He hoisted her up easily and sat her down on the edge of the table, positioning himself right in between her legs and using one hand to roughly jilt her chin up so she was staring into his furious, steely eyes.

"_DRACO! _Stop! What are you doing—"

Gasping in shock, she tried to snap at him in protest but it came out as another gasp when his hands had reached up and yanked her green gown right off her form – the expensive fabric easily ripping into tiny shreds and exposing the leather she was still wearing underneath.

Draco didn't look surprised when he saw her attire and instead of saying anything, he hurled the useless strips of cloth that had used to be Jaimee's gown onto the floor and glared at her in outrage – his eyes burning as they roamed up and down her boots and leather outfit.

Feeling self-conscious under his scrutinizing gaze, Harry wrapped her arms protectively around herself and tried to scoot backwards along his desk away from him. "Draco, listen… Before you explode, I can explain why I look like this. I was undercover tonight—"

"DID YOU LET ANOTHER MAN TOUCH YOU?!"

She rolled her eyes at his predictable question and sighed, wincing and hoping to Merlin that the spells he had cast were strong enough so that the rest of the guests in the ballroom down the hall couldn't hear their conversation. Draco looked absolutely livid with rage and looked like he was difficulty trying not to fly off into another one of his jealous fits.

"No, I _didn't! _You know I would _NEVER_—"

He clamped his hands on her bare shoulders and pushed her roughly back down onto his table until her back was pressed against the cold, wooden surface. She almost gasped again when he followed her down and caged her down against the table by pressing his hands down on either side of his head and leaning down until their faces were inches part.

His feet remained firmly planted on the floor as he leaned over her form on the table, their highly suggestive position causing a flush to rise up in Jaimee's cheeks – especially when she saw the way Draco's eyes were glinting in rage and the way he was leering possessively at her body.

As she gaped up at him, he voiced his question in another angry growl. "_DID YOU DISPLAY MORE OF YOURSELF THAN THIS?!" _He seethed again, causing Jaimee to flinch when his voice rose even more levels in heightened fury.

"No, Draco! I _DIDN'T!_ Listen to me—"

"WHAT THE _FUCK _WERE YOU DOING TONIGHT?! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR MORE THAN A BLOODY HOUR!"

Draco's eyes blazed as he used a single hand and angrily swiped the remaining papers, quills and ink bottles above Harry's head on the desk, his shoulders heaving with pent-up fury as he watched them all scatter noisily onto the wooden floor.

Harry winced at this again and frantically wracked her brain for something that would calm Draco's anger down. "I—I know, love…I'm _sorry!_ Being late was my fault and I promise you that it won't happen again, I—" Draco cut her off by gripping her chin roughly and tilting her head up so she was looking into his dark nearly blackened gray eyes.

"That was what you said _LAST TIME_ too during _MY_ birthday celebration, Potter!" He hissed and the memory of that brought a small glimmer of guilt to her eyes. She bit her lip and tried to speak up again in a softer voice.

"I know…I'm _sorry_, Draco…I really am. I _promise _that this will be the absolute last time this ever happens. I won't accept missions like these anymore and I—"

Draco cut her off again by grabbing both her hands, intertwining his fingers through hers and trapping them down onto the table's surface. "YOU'D BETTER NOT, HARRY! I WILL ONLY SAY THIS ONE LAST TIME – YOU ARE _NEVER_ TO DISPLAY YOUR BODY LIKE THIS TO _ANY OTHER MAN_ EXCEPT FOR ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" He raged but to his utter shock, Harry's green eyes flashed and she freed one of her hands to slap it hard right across his cheek.

His head snapped back for a minute at the impact before he glared back at her and easily met the indignant, challenging glare in her eyes. Harry looked just like she always did back in school when she and Draco would have their little spats in the hallways and he suddenly overstepped his boundaries by attacking her pride.

In spite of himself, Draco felt his eyes darken slightly in arousal at this but he held himself back and watched as she looked up at him and began to hiss out in an equally angry whisper. "I may be your wife Malfoy and by law, you _may _have legal rights to my body but you do _NOT _own _ME_! I will _NOT _let you dictate your stupid rules to me like I'm just another one of your bloody servants!" She retorted furiously, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

The minute she said this, Draco's anger strengthened full-force and he returned her comment with a harsh, mocking drawl. "No matter what you say or what you let yourself believe, Potter…You _AND _your body will always be…_MINE._" He sneered down at her and bent down so that their faces were even closer until his lips were practically brushing against hers.

His voice had ended in such a dangerous hiss that – as he said – it sent a shiver of desire down her spine, causing her to curse herself inwardly in frustration at her own body's involuntary submission to him. Noticing her reaction, Draco smirked in self-satisfaction and pulled himself upright away from her, allowing her to raise herself back up into a sitting position on his desk.

"See what I mean…?"

At the sight of the same Slytherin smirk that had taunted her for seven years back at Hogwarts, Harry let out an angry, frustrated sound that sounded like a half-growl, half-scream and raised a hand to slap him hard on the face again.

"Grrrarrrgh! Malfoy, you _BASTARD!" _

Unfortunately, Draco anticipated her actions this time and easily caught her hand in his just inches before she hit his face, sneering as he squeezed his fingers tightly around her smaller ones. They eyes met for a long silence – both sets of orbs darkened with murderous anger and both their facial expressions twisted into an angry sneer.

She tried not to cringe in pain as his hand tightened around her fingers in a bone-crushing grip and focused on trying to yank it free instead. Draco sneer hardened and he used his grip on her hand to yank her forward towards him so he could whisper something into her ear.

"Nothing you can do about it… _SCAR-HEAD!" _

Harry's eyes widened and her jaw dropped indignantly at the familiar taunt but as she looked up and glared right into his eyes once more, she saw something there other than anger. She was certain that she almost would have missed it had she not been staring at his eyes but she saw it clearly – the briefest, faintest spark of unmistakable _lust_ in his glinting silver orbs.

"I _hate _you, Malfoy!"

She looked up and met his glinting eyes with her own, her cheeks flushing heavily with frustration and her breaths coming in shallow gasps.

That was really all it took for their taut forms to come crashing against each other in crazed, uncontrollable lust – their hands roaming wildly around the other's body and their lips smashing hard against the other's in a deep, desperately hungry kiss.

* * *

_*RATED SCENE DELETED*_

* * *

"You did it again, you know…"

Harry tried desperately to bite back a smile when she heard the sullen frustration in her husband's voice. She looked up at him and watched as he pulled the zipper of his pants back up and began to straighten his collar, pausing every now and then to shoot her a glare from where she was still sitting innocently along the edge of his table.

"Did what?" She asked, blinking innocently as she reached over handed Draco his belt, holding back a laugh when he snatched it from her hands and gave her a poisonous look. He didn't seem to appreciate her amusement and narrowed his eyes at her as she swung her legs idly from where they dangled off the edge of the table.

"You know _exactly_ what, Potter." He gritted his teeth and extracted his wand from his tux pocket, flicking it over the mess of quills, parchment and ink bottles scattered all over the carpeted floor of his office. "Whenever I'm angry with you, you find some _insane_ way to turn it around and transform it into lust and we always end up having sex! It's frustrating!" He growled, watching as Harry laughed and finally jumped off the table to help him rearrange his things.

"I don't do it on _purpose, _Draco! You do it yourself! You're such a horny prick. I must have been only _half_ as randy as you when I was a man." She retorted pointedly as she plopped herself down on one of the chairs in front of his table and began to untie the laces of her boots.

Draco chose to ignore her little comment and muttered darkly to himself from where he stood in front of his office mirror. He rolled his eyes as he straightened his undershirt and began to slick back his disheveled hair once more with a hint of hair wax.

As soon as the leather boots had come off her aching feet, Harry hopped back up and walked over to him to wrap her arms around his waist from behind. He continued to ignore her and purposely kept his gaze focused on his reflection, causing the former Gryffindor to roll her eyes in fond amusement at his little dramatic display.

"Are you still mad…?"

Draco remained silent and his expression remained stony as adjusted his bow tie with deliberate slowness, causing Harry to smile again at him through their reflections in the mirror. She leaned her chin down onto his shoulder and gave him a light kiss on the side of his jaw.

"Oh come on, Malfoy…Quit being such a drama queen. Don't get all huffy with me over this. I thought _'I' _was the girl in this relationship." She teased playfully, finally causing Draco's eyes to flash in horrified indignation at the word 'queen'. He whipped around, shoved her backwards a few steps away from him and leveled her with a highly irritated glare.

"_DRAMA_ queen?! Potter, this is the _THIRD _time you have showed up _LATE_ to a family occasion! The first one being my _BIRTHDAY!_" He snapped angrily, finally causing Harry to bite her lip and drop her eyes down sheepishly to the floor.

"I know, Draco…I'm sorry…I swear I won't let it happen again—"

"And am I _STILL _mad?! You show up _AN HOUR LATE_ to my grandparents' anniversary, make me look like a complete _FOOL_ waiting for you in front of all those guests in there _AND_ arrive in a _SKANKY LEATHER OUTFIT _with _BOOTS! _OF COURSE I'M STILL BLOODY MAD, POTTER!" He practically exploded, causing Harry to cringe again.

"For the record, none of the guests saw the leather outfit, just the boots—"

"_SHUT UP!_" Draco hissed, ignoring the look of embarrassment on her face as he reached over and gripped her chin up to force her to meet his eyes. "TELL ME…Do you honestly think all this is _FUNNY?!_ Do you think you could just…_SEDUCE _me every goddamn time this happens and hope that I forget everything just like that?!" He challenged, waiting until Harry bit her lip again and dared to look up at him to give him a weak, teasing smile despite the horrible guilt seen in her eyes.

"Would it help if I wear the bunny ears again?"

"_WHAT?!" _

Draco's eyes widened in stunned disbelief, feeling another surge of anger ripping through his chest at the outrageous nerve of her question. When she saw the look of outrage on his face, Harry dared to pierce through his anger with humor again by stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, planting another kiss just by the corners of his lips.

"Don't try to play hardball with me, Draco Malfoy…I _used_ to be a man. I KNOW sex helps me in earning your forgiveness…" She pointed out bluntly, looking at him and watching for several moments as Draco blinked wordlessly at her with a blank expression of speechless stupor on his face.

She held his gaze easily with a knowing grin, waiting and challenging his glare. To her immense relief, Draco finally looked away and dropped his gaze to his feet, fighting desperately to keep the ghost of a reluctant smile from breaking out onto his face.

"…Fine…Maybe the sex helps a _LITTLE…"_

Harry laughed knowingly at his response and pulled him closer for a warm embrace, smiling softly as she buried her face into his chest and his arms finally wrapped themselves around her waist. When he leaned down and pressed a kiss gently onto the top of her head, she sighed and finally looked back up so he could see the genuine remorse on her face.

"Look…For what it's worth, Draco…I really am _sorry._ I realize sex isn't going to make the problem go away—" Draco rolled his eyes at this but nodded for her to continue. "—and I _know_ my job hasn't been making things easy for the both of us but I promise I _will_ try to make it all work. Just…give me some time, okay? It was hard enough being Harry Potter…Now I have to be Mistress Jaimee Malfoy too. It isn't all that easy you know." She gave him a pointed look that caused Draco to sigh in reluctant agreement.

"Just…_Promise_ me that you won't wear this dress and those boots in public ever again and we're good, Harry." Draco finally relented, his eyes flicking down to inspect her leather outfit again. Harry blushed under his scrutiny but nodded and let out a derisive scoff in agreement.

"You have my _word; _Draco…In fact…The minute this night is over, I am going to burn this _and_ those leather boots. I am _never _wearing something like this again—"

Draco cut her off in the middle of her angry tirade and looked at her as though she was crazy. "Whoa, whoa…_Hold on! _Let's not be dramatic, Potter! Who said anything about burning the dress or throwing it away?!" He exclaimed before he could prevent himself, causing Harry to pause mid-sentence and give him a suspicious glare.

"Excuse me…_What_?"

He gave her an innocent grin and shrugged, pulling her slender form closer against his body. "I mean…You know. Why not just…Keep it in the back of your closet or something? I mean, for _emergency purposes!_ You never know what's going to happen, right?" His eyes gleamed lecherously at his own words and at this, Harry's left eye twitched in irritation.

"Sure…The minute Voldemort rises back from the dead and comes to kill me in the middle of the night, my first instinct would be to dress up in the leather dress I had saved precisely for special _emergency_ purposes." She drawled sarcastically but Draco merely gave her an infuriatingly wide, all-too-innocent grin and shrugged again in response.

"You never know, huh? In fact, while we're at it…Keep the leather boots too! I mean, why waste them right?!" He added nonchalantly, pulling away from her and walking over to straighten the last bits of parchments on his now newly arranged and obsessively neat table.

"…Draco Lucius Malfoy—"

Ignoring the warning in her voice, Draco looked back up and rewarded his seething wife with one of his perfectly handsome, charming smiles.

"You can put them right in the special 'emergency' corner I made in the back of your closet where I hung your pink, bunny dress up."

* * *

Ginny looked up at the main entrance of the grand Malfoy ballroom and rolled her eyes to herself when she was met with image of Draco and Jaimee reentering the party together hand in hand. The striking pair looked so infuriatingly perfect together and was practically glowing in the other's presence that Ginny felt like puking in disgust at the look of utter contentment on their faces.

_Hmm…I never thought I'd hate my ex-'boyfriend' for looking better in a gown than me._ Ginny mused to herself in mild-amusement as she swept her eyes over the other girl's form. Jaimee was absolutely _glowing _as she entered the ballroom that Ginny could practically hear the number of necks cracking as about a couple dozen male guests craned their heads to look at her.

The Malfoy Mistress seemed to have realized the inappropriateness of her earlier attire that evening and was now decked out in a _beautiful_ white strapless evening gown. The elegant material ended in a graceful flowing skirt above her knees and showed off a teasing amount of her long legs. Instead of boots, a pair of heeled strappy sandals adorned her feet and made her taller by a few inches so that she was just about the same height as her husband.

Her long black hair fell down in natural waves past her shoulders and a light, endearing blush adorned her face as she greeted the approaching guests with a gracious smile and nod – cracking a few easy jokes every now and then that earned her several laughs from some of the most distinguished members of elite Wizarding society.

The smile on Draco's face was almost dreamy and he looked utterly enamored with Harry as he watched her conversing easily with their guests. The Malfoy Head looked as though he barely understood any of the occurring conversations around them as more and more guests walked up to them to ask Jaimee about her little 'embarrassing entrance' about an hours ago.

Harry, however, seemed to be able to maneuver herself out of the embarrassing questions well enough without Draco's help by cracking a few jokes at her expense – which many of the guests seemed to find absolutely charming and accepted either way. She regaled them further with several more embarrassing stories about herself until everyone practically forgot about her leather boots incident altogether and were now more focused on listening to her.

_Ugh…I can't believe I'm losing my date's interest to a former male. I'll be glad when her stomach starts growing so men will stop crowding around her all the time and I can finally flirt with the male population in peace again. _Ginny thought sullenly to herself and she was just about to turn away from the scene when her date spoke up from beside her and broke her thoughts.

"Blimey…So _that's _Malfoy's wife, huh? She's bloody _gorgeous, _she is!" Stephen Fielding, a handsome, pureblooded graduate from Durmstrang that Ginny had met during the course of her own hunting season, exclaimed out loud in amazement.

Ginny's eyes flashed in annoyance as she turned and glared at him, following his eyes to where Harry was now reaching over to give her Lawrence and Genevieve Malfoy another hug of congratulations. "Is it just me or do people keep _forgetting _that she used to be a _MALE?_ Does that not turn you off a little bit?" She pointed out but Stephen laughed and shook his head.

"A body as hot as _that_ now…I wouldn't care if she used to be a dragon!" He kidded but Ginny didn't take too lightly to this reaction and before she could stop herself, she ended up blurting something out loud that caused Stephen's eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets.

"You know she's _pregnant_, right?! Pretty soon, she won't have that 'hot' body anymore!"

The minute the words had left her lips, her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth in shock. Unfortunately, the deed had been done and Stephen snapped his head back to look at her, his eyes wide with surprise as he gauged the expression on her face.

"Nooo..No, _REALLY?_" He gulped down the rest of his drink and shook his head with a grin of amusement directed at Draco. "Well, that's a shame then. But I got to hand it to Malfoy…Knocking up _that_ little treat…He's okay in my book." He smirked to himself at this and failed to see the look of pure disgust Ginny had sent at his back.

"Ugh…You are a disgusting _pig_, Stephen_. _I don't even know why I'm here with you." She didn't bother to clarify herself any further as she turned around and walked away from him, ignoring the confused look on his face as he called after her retreating form.

As soon as she had reached the end of the ballroom, she sighed and headed over to the nearest refreshment table to get herself another drink – intent on drinking the rest of the night away until she couldn't even remember her date's name.

After a long sip of wine and another quick glance around the ballroom, she saw the rest of her family talking amongst themselves in the far corner of the room with Blaise, Hermione, Sirius and Regina. The Weasleys stood out so easily with their bright red hair and freckles amidst the other guests that Ginny couldn't help smiling to herself as she waved over to them in acknowledgement.

_What am I even doing here…? There's no gossip to write about except for Harry's pregnancy and I can't scoop anything on her like that. _Ginny sighed and set down her glass on the table to look at Harry again, watching almost wistfully the former Gryffindor blushed when Draco had leaned down and given her a lingering kiss on her cheek.

_Now why can't I find a relationship as real and genuine as that…?_

"Draco's so besotted with her, it's a little sickening…Don't you think so?"

Jumping in surprise, Ginny whirled around at the familiar chuckling voice and found herself facing Anton's handsome smile as he walked over beside her to grab a glass of champagne from the table. Fighting back a blush at his unexpected presence, she nodded and forced a laugh when he stopped and stood beside her to watch the same scene.

"Yes…It's almost strange to think about them as the same pair of boys who were trying to kill each other during their first few years at Hogwarts." She commented in agreement, causing Anton to laugh again as he took a long sip of his drink.

The two of them watched as Draco led Jaimee away from the rest of his family and guests and began to usher her towards the dance floor, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. As soon as the pair joined the other dancers, Anton finally looked back at Ginny and gave her a teasing smirk.

"So…Where's your date, Miss Ginny? A beautiful girl like you all alone by the refreshment table like this? It just doesn't seem right." He pointed out with an easy, flirtatious grin, causing Ginny to roll her eyes at his words but otherwise laugh in gratitude.

"Don't even ask, Malfoy. Ugh….Stephen was a jerk. He did nothing but stare at Harry the entire time and even made a sexist comment when I told him that she was pregnant—"

The rest of Anton's drink ended up being sprayed all over the glossy marble surface of the dance floor. At his reaction, Ginny's cheeks immediately flamed up in embarrassment and she clamped her hand over her mouth again in utter horror.

_I have got to keep my mouth shut!_

"What did you say?!"

Anton's eyes had widened to the size of saucers as he stared at her, his jaw hanging open in disbelief. Ginny shook her head frantically and tried to save herself by laughing and waving his question away as though unimportant.

"What? What _did _I say, I didn't say anything! What are you talking about?" She winced when Anton spoke up again, his voice ending up in a choked-up squeak.

"Yes you did! You said—Oh MERLIN! Jaimee's _PREGNANT?!_" His eyes riveted over to where Jaimee was still dancing with Draco in the middle of the dance floor. "Merlin's _BEARD_, that's unbelievable! I'd better go and tell the rest of the family right away—"

"_DON'T!"_

Ginny cut the rest of Anton's exclamations off by grabbing him by the arm and keeping him firmly in place. When he turned back to look at her in question, she shook her head frantically and leveled him with a quelling look.

"Anton…Harry herself doesn't even know she's pregnant yet and I _hardly _think she'll appreciate the entire Malfoy family – much less the entire _ballroom_ – knowing about it before she does. Let _her _find out first before you tell everyone else." She pointed out calmly, much to Anton's disappointment as he rolled his eyes but sighed in acquiescence.

"Oh…Very well, Miss Ginny. I'll keep my mouth shut. Although I have to say it's amusing to have a _gossip columnist _tell me to keep mum about anything." He pointed out with a smug smile, causing Ginny to flush in embarrassment as she tore her hand away from his arm in shock.

"You _know_ I'm a gossip columnist?" She blurted out, earning another easy laugh from Anton as he nodded and downed the rest of his drink in a single swig. "Just found out tonight. So what's the deal, Ginny? Did you date me purposely to get a good story on me?" He asked her directly and Ginny would have choked on her drink at his blunt question had there not been a wide smile on Anton's face.

"Excuse me? I—I would never have—"

The half-veela laughed and shook his head anyway at her half-hearted attempt to explain herself. "Don't worry, it's alright. I don't mind, really…I've had plenty of women try to scoop me before for my libertine ways. A lot of them succeeded mind, you…I realize I tend to be the favorite of many gossip columns these days." He admitted wryly, causing Ginny to smile in relief.

"Wow…So you're not mad at me? I didn't date you for the gossip, you know. I actually dated you because I thought you were charming and I thought I could make you see the error of your ways." She added with a flirtatious smile, causing Anton to grin back and shrug in response.

"I know."

Ginny laughed in spite of herself and shook her head at his audacity, watching as Anton winked at her and reached for another full glass of champagne.

"A _lot_ of women think they can go out with me to 'change my ways' but I prove them wrong each time. Oh and don't worry about the whole 'gossip columnist' thing too, I think we can both say without embarrassment that our time together was one where we both gained something from the 'experience'." He smirked at that but was thoroughly surprised that instead of blushing like most other girls did, Ginny returned his smirk easily with a wicked one of her own.

"Ehh…I _suppose_ you were okay in bed, Malfoy." She teased, earning a glare from Anton as he set his glass down and blinked at her in disbelief.

"I beg your pardon…? _JUST _okay?!"

Ginny laughed at the absolute indignation on his face and shook her head, reaching over to playfully pick at an imaginary piece of lint off his tuxedo. "Alright…You were _great_ in bed, then." She amended before coyly biting her lip, lowering her eyelashes as she stepped up to him until their faces were practically inches apart.

"_I'm _great in bed too, you know…In case you've forgotten…Or shall I remind you?" She whispered seductively into his ear, smiling to herself when she was answered by Anton's suggestive smirk. He trailed a single hand down and placed it on the curve of her waist, using the leverage to pull their bodies closer against each other.

"Oh I remember, Ginny…You have _no _idea how much I remember." His voice trailed off into a chuckle as he said this and Ginny's smile widened when she saw Anton's blue eyes slowly trailing up and down her body. He quirked a single eyebrow and rewarded her with a teasing smile when she seemed to step back and pull herself away from him.

"My bedroom is on this floor of the manor, you know…Fancy another attempt to get a good gossip story out of me?" He kidded suggestively, causing Ginny to answer him by rolling her eyes and flicking her gaze pointedly over to where Marie-Claire Francois was conversing with Anton's mother a good couple of feet away.

"I don't think your _date_ would take too kindly to you abandoning her in the middle of the party like that, Malfoy. Besides…I'm sorry. But I don't do seconds." She said this with just the right hint of arrogance and satisfaction in her voice that Anton ended up laughing in spite of himself.

"Well I must say, Miss Ginny…You are _unlike_ any other girl I have ever gone out with." He sounded amazed as he said this, watching as Ginny merely smiled wider and answered him by deliberately flipping her long red hair over her shoulder.

"I know… I am _way _out of your league, Anton Malfoy." She quipped, unaware of the way Anton's blue eyes seemed to twinkle fondly at her words. A small hint of an admiring smile lingered on his face as he watched her, noting the way her face smiled up at him with genuine mirth.

"You may be right, Ginny…"

Ginny looked confused at the strange tone of his voice but Anton hastily blinked the expression away before she could notice anything. After a moment of awkward silence, she followed his gaze back to Marie-Claire's slender form several feet away from where they stood.

"So…How's your date tonight, Malfoy? Marie-Claire seems very beautiful and talented…She seems sweet too. Things seem to be getting serious if you're letting her talk to your mother like that." She noted lightly, wincing when she heard the bitterness dripping from her own voice.

Anton seemed not to have noticed this and chuckled, shaking his head in response. "If by 'serious', you mean am I going to date her for a couple more days, then _yes._" He glanced back over to the petite brunette and automatically smiled back when she waved at him.

As soon as Marie-Claire had turned away, Anton turned back and met Ginny's eyes with a derisive scoff. "It shouldn't last long though. She isn't really all that different from all the other women I've dated before…I'm even thinking of giving her the whole 'I'm not ready for a relationship' speech after this week." He admitted, causing Ginny to smirk widely in response.

"Can I write about _that _break-up in my column then?" She asked innocently, eliciting a laugh from the Malfoy son as he shrugged and gave her an easy smile. "Sure, go ahead. Be sure to include the part about me being a _BACHELOR_ and about being one of the two remaining unmarried Malfoy sons though." He added as an afterthought, grinning when Ginny couldn't help giggling at his quip.

"You're a jerk, Anton."

"I know. Don't you just love it?"

He sighed dramatically and finally set his empty champagne glass back onto the table, turning and bowing slightly to her to indicate his leave. "Well, Miss Ginny…I do believe it's time for me to stop flirting with extremely ravishing redheads. I need to go back and entertain my date." He paused and leaned down to place a suave kiss on the back of her hand.

"She's finally realized you were flirting and is glaring at us right now isn't she?" She guessed knowingly and one look at the sheepish grin on Anton's face gave the unspoken answer away.

"You are an oddly perceptive woman, Ginny." Chuckling, he gave her one last smile and wink before he finally turned around and walked away – completely unaware of the way Ginny's eyes lingered on him as he walked back to his pouting date across the room.

* * *

"So…What was up with Potter's little entrance awhile ago, Draco? Why was she wearing those leather boots?" Blaise asked his best friend nonchalantly much later that night as he watched the blonde help himself to another glass of brandy. He, Draco and a couple more of their friends were gathered in small circle by the bar at the end of the ballroom.

The rest of the men gathered around with them – Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Reggie Malfoy, and Oswald Cunningham looked up at Blaise's question and riveted their eyes curiously towards Draco's form. Draco didn't seem to appreciate this little stunt and gave Blaise an irritated glare before rolling his eyes and answering in a calm drawl.

"That is a private matter between me and my wife, Zabini. How would _you _like it if I suddenly started asking _you _about your sex life with Granger?" He retorted easily, causing most of the other men around them to chuckle in amusement at the slightly embarrassed look on Blaise's face.

"Th—that wasn't what I meant—"

"Speaking of sex…I don't know if I've said it before, Malfoy…But I have to say it again. Your wife has got the most…_amazing_ body! One look at her and you could easily forget that she used to be the bloody boy-who-lived!" Oswald Cunningham snorted in amusement. He sniggered and downed the rest of his glass of whiskey in a single gulp.

When he looked back up, he was surprised to find that he was the object of both Draco and Reggie's poisonous glares at his rude, offensive comment. While Draco was glaring viciously at him and looked more than capable of slitting his throat, Reggie was obviously the more civil Malfoy son and voiced out their indignation in a calm tone of voice.

"While you may be a family friend, Oswald… As a Malfoy, I _cannot _permit you to speak of a member of my family in such a derogatory way like that. Now…Draco and I would _both _appreciate it if you apologized for the way you spoke about Jaimee and—" Reggie's polite retort was cut off by Draco slamming his empty glass right back down onto the bar table in anger.

"You _bastard! _How _dare _you talk about my wife like that?! I'm going to teach you a lesson in manners, you son of a bitch—"

_"Draco!_"

Reggie hastily interrupted his older cousin's angry tirade, redirecting everyone's attention to his exasperated features. The younger Malfoy glanced back at Oswald's sheepish face and noted the way the other pureblood had taken several steps backwards from Draco in fear.

Sighing, Reggie rolled his eyes at Draco and continued his much more _polite _admonishment of Oswald's actions. "Oswald, I think what Draco means to say—in more forceful words, that is– is that you should watch what you say about Jaimee. Otherwise we may be forced to resort to less than civilized means of—"

"Alright, alright! I _apologize, _Malfoy…I realize I may have overstepped my boundaries with that little comment." Oswald grunted stiffly, taking another shaky step backwards when he saw the way Draco was _still _glaring at him with dangerously narrowed gray eyes.

Blaise chuckled and finally spoke up to break the ice. "So Oswald…How is Pansy doing with Baxter? I spoke to her this afternoon and she seems completely taken in with your son." He commented idly, smirking at Oswald's nod of gratitude when Draco's attention finally shifted to Blaise.

Oswald shrugged and managed a half-hearted laugh, gesturing for the bartender to pour him another glass of tequila. "And why wouldn't she be? Baxter is _just_ as handsome as his father!" He boasted loudly, failing to see the look of amused derision Blaise and Draco shared at the comment.

Reggie also seemed to be holding a smile when he heard this while Crabbe and Goyle merely rolled their eyes at each other in mild annoyance. Crabbe turned his attention to Draco and gave the former Slytherin a casually friendly smirk.

"In defense of Cunningham, Draco…Potter _is _looking particularly radiant tonight. How's the marriage been so far?" He asked, earning an easy grin from Draco as he flicked his gaze over to where Harry was conversing with Hermione across the dance floor from where they stood.

"She _does _look really beautiful tonight, doesn't she?" He mused out loud to himself with a slight smile, causing the other men around him to roll their eyes at his words. Unable to contain himself any longer, Blaise grinned widely and spoke up in a mischievous tone of voice.

"Like I said…It's almost like she's _glowing_…Don't you think so, Drac?" He asked with an innocent smile, earning a couple of confused glances from the other men around them. Draco looked at him and raised an eyebrow in query. "Yes…I suppose you could say that. Why?" He asked suspiciously, raising another full glass of brandy to his lips.

"Afterglow?"

Reggie choked on his glass of vodka at Goyle's rather blunt guess. Draco laughed loudly and shook his head, setting his empty glass back down onto the bar table. "That explains why _I'm _glowing, Goyle." Oswald and Crabbe both sniggered at the perverted remark but Blaise rolled his eyes, walking up to the Malfoy Head and lowering his voice into a whisper.

"Do you _really _not see where I'm going with this, Draco…?" He asked carefully, peering right into his best friend's silver eyes. When Draco continued to blink up at him as though he was insane, Blaise slapped a hand on his forehead and let out a frustrated growl.

"Ugh…You graduated _valedictorian _of our batch, Malfoy! Can you not _guess_ what I am trying to tell you?! Your wife is bloody preg—"

"_Malfoy! _There you are, you lucky dog! I've been looking all over for you!"

Blaise sighed as Draco's attention shifted from him to the young, dark-haired man who had approached them from behind. The new arrival nodded to all of them in greeting and slung an arm around Draco's shoulders. Unfortunately, the blonde didn't take too kindly to being touched and shrugged the man's arm right off, raising an eyebrow snobbishly at him in annoyance.

"You're Stephen Fielding, right? Durmstrang graduate? We're not all that close for you to talk to me so casually like this. What do you want?" He answered rudely, looking the other pureblood up and down with a disdainful sneer marring his features.

Fielding looked mildly offended at Draco's words but shrugged either way and walked drunkenly over to stand with them by the end of the bar.

"I just came here to congratulate you….You are now officially my_ role model, _Malfoy." He chuckled and paused to order a glass of vodka from the bartender, oblivious to the glare of frustrated confusion that Draco suddenly sent at Blaise's sheepish face.

"_Congratulations_?!"

Reggie, Crabbe, Goyle and Oswald looked just about as confused as Draco was as Stephen turned back to face them and lifted his glass up to Draco in a half-hearted toast. "Cheers to you, Draco…" He gulped down his drink in a single gulp and slammed the empty glass back onto the bar, turning around one last time and giving an utterly bewildered Draco a wink.

"Marrying and knocking up a woman like that! You're bloody wicked, you are! You _rock_!" He gave the rest of the stunned, astonished men around them a drunken salute of farewell before slinking away and leaving a white-faced, sputtering Draco staring wide-eyed after his retreating back.

"Wh—what did he say…?"

Blaise tried not to laugh at the high-pitched squeaking in his best friend's voice and rushed forward to hand him a full glass of bourbon to calm his nerves. Draco snatched it instantly and emptied the entire glass within seconds, dropping the empty container clumsily onto the floor.

He winced when he heard the crystalline glass shattering into tiny shards at his feet but he seemed unable to do anything else except blink and stare blankly at Blaise's smirking face with a look of stunned dismay on his normally stoic face. His eyes began to blink rapidly but his face remained motionless and his jaw continued to hang stupidly in speechless shock.

Unfortunately, the rest of the men around them seemed to have trouble containing their own reactions at this piece of information and immediately all burst out into simultaneous laughter and grins – all of them rushing forward and circling around Draco's pale and clammy form in astonishment.

"That's great news, Draco! Uncle Lucius and the rest of the family are going to be _thrilled_ when they find out!" This particular exclamation had come from Reggie as he had rushed forward and clapped his older cousin hard on the back with a laugh.

Draco had been drinking directly from an entire bottle of bourbon when Reggie had said this and the minute the younger Malfoy had clapped his back, the Malfoy Head promptly began coughing and choking loudly as the liquor lodged itself into his throat.

Reggie immediately winced and muttered a quick apology as he rushed to grab his older cousin a glass of water. Draco was oblivious to this and continued to choke and cough for breath, the bottle of bourbon slipping from his hand again and shattering noisily onto the floor.

Crabbe, Goyle and Oswald began to laugh at the hysterical scene and stepped aside as more and more of their pureblooded friends began to approach them from different parts of the ballroom to offer their own congratulations. Draco barely registered any of the words they were saying and was more concentrated on wheezing and trying not to choke to death.

"Malfoy, congratulations! I hear your wife's pregnant!"

"Draco, you're finally going to be a father!"

"Congratulations, Malfoy! You finally knocked her up, eh?"

At this point, Blaise was trying desperately to stop laughing and continued to slap Draco repeatedly on his back as his best friend coughed and tried to clear his throat. The Malfoy Head's eyes widened as they flicked frantically from one approaching pureblood to another in growing panic.

"I—I kept trying to _tell _you, Drac! Hermione told me this afternoon when she found out! Potter's been showing all the signs for awhile now…She's _pregnant!_" He told him loudly above the voices of the other men around them, laughing again when Draco looked stupidly up at him and gaped unwittingly like a fish out of water.

"Wh—wha—wha…H—How? Wh—when? Sh—she….B—baby…F—father…_M—me?!"_

_**FLASH!**_

"Now _THAT_ is one picture that is definitely going in the Malfoy family album!" Byron quipped loudly with a wide, ecstatic grin. He had approached them from the middle of the growing crowd, a magical camera held tightly in his raised hands.

Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle began to laugh harder when Draco took one look at Byron's beaming face and watched as the younger Malfoy son walked right up to him, slung an arm around his trembling shoulders and gave him another hard slap on the back.

"No wonder Harry's been acting all weird and tired lately…. I can't believe I never figured it out! Congratulations! Smile for the camera, _DADDY DRACO!"_

Byron held his camera up to Draco's white face one more time but just as it flashed for another stolen picture, Draco finally turned to look at him and managed one last high-pitched squeak when he realized the full implication of Byron's words.

_"D—d—daddy….Draco?!"_

His eyes rolled back up to the back of his head and before either Blaise, Byron or any of his other friends could react, Hogwarts' former prince of Slytherin promptly fell backwards in a dead, uncharacteristically clumsy faint onto the ground.

* * *

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

Harry turned her irritated expression to Hermione beside her but her best friend merely sighed and massaged her temples in growing frustration. For some reason, about half of the entire ballroom of guests had begun to crowd around the bar at the end of the room while the other half began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves and gave Harry occasional smiles and glances.

One look at the sheepish and highly apologetic look on Ginny's face across the dance floor was all it took for Hermione to figure out what had happened. The minute she did, she had rushed over to tell Harry herself what was going on before the news sent her into a state of shock.

Unfortunately, her former male best friend seemed to be having a rather difficult time picking up on anything she had been saying for the past couple of minutes and was more intent on trying to hide from the dozens of stares people were throwing at her from all over the room.

"What are they all staring and whispering about _now, _Hermione?! Do I have something on my face? Did I forget to wear a bra again?" She looked down and checked her breasts in answer to her own question, causing Hermione to bite back a surprised laugh in spite of herself.

"What's wrong with me now?! What did I do? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?!" Harry continued to ask in growing impatience, her hands clenched tightly into fists as she fought to keep her face from blushing at all the unwanted attention she was receiving.

Hermione winced and pulled her best friend aside to the corner of the room, ignoring the whispers that followed them as more and more people began to peer at Harry in avid interest. "Harry…Remember that important _thing_ I was supposed to tell you this afternoon?" She fought back a growl when Harry shook her head dumbly at her in response to her question.

"You said I would have to wait until during the party to tell you…_Remember?!_" Hermione sighed heavily at the utterly dumbfounded expression on the other girl's face and lowered her voice into a softer whisper.

"_Harry…_You remember when you and I had this little…_discussion…_about the female anatomy back at Hogwarts? About how women have a certain…visitor…_every month?_" She asked carefully, watching as a myriad of emotions crossed Harry's face.

"Uhm…I _think _so…But I don't understand, Hermione. What does that have to do with anything—Was that _Draco?!_ Did he just faint?! Is he okay—" She looked as though she was going to rush over to her husband when Hermione growled and snatched at her wrist to keep her in place.

"Harry_, _you're not _LISTENING _to me—"

Harry shot her an incredulous glare. "Hermione, I'm just going to go over there and check if Draco's alright! Look, I don't know what is going on here but—" She stopped again when Hermione let out a strangled scream of frustration and clamped her hands down on Harry's shoulders.

"_Harry, _LISTEN to me." The brunette took a deep breath of air to calm herself, looking back up and meeting Harry's panicked expression with a calm smile.

"Do you remember when I told you how it was _important_ for you to keep tabs on when your 'monthly visitor' arrives? And to make sure you don't skip any months without it?" She asked sweetly, her smile tightening when Harry merely looked at her with one eye smaller than the other.

"Huh?"

Hermione's left eye twitched. She glanced briefly around the ballroom, biting her lip in increasing panic when she realized that by now, most of the Malfoys were practically beaming with elation and were headed in their direction from different parts of the ballroom.

Turning back to Harry, she ignored the fact that her formerly male best friend was now scratching her head and gave her one last grim smile. "Think carefully, Harry…When was the last time you had your monthly visitor? Do you remember if it arrived this month?" She asked in an almost pleading whisper that Harry had to laugh at the desperation in her voice.

"If you're talking about that stupid once-a-month bleeding thing women go through, would you believe I was lucky enough not to have it these last two months?" Harry laughed again and shrugged, reaching over at a passing house-elf to grab herself a glass of champagne.

Hermione smacked her forehead with her hand again and reached over to take the glass of champagne from her pregnant friend's hands.

"And it was a such a welcome _relief _too! I mean, I don't know how you women manage to handle that stupid bleeding every month, it's such a hassle really and it impedes my movement! I can't believe it actually – _Hey! _That's mine!" Harry scowled as Hermione snatched the champagne from her hand and drank it herself before Harry could reach for it again.

"Hermione! You're being very rude! I would have given you the drink had you asked for it." Harry grumbled in complaint. Hermione simply gave a tut in irritation and set the empty glass of champagne back down onto the table beside them.

Taking another deep breath to ready herself, Hermione tried not to let the frantic desperation in her voice seep through when she realized that most of the Malfoys were very slowly closing in on them with wide, almost creepily happy smiles on their faces.

She turned to Harry and growled loudly as she snatched the second glass of champagne the other girl had just managed to grab from another house-elf that had passed them. Harry finally looked extremely irritated at this and gave Hermione an exasperated glare.

"Damn it, Hermione! If you want a drink so badly, get one yourself and stop stealing mine—"

She stopped midsentence and blinked in surprise when Hermione placed her hands firmly on her shoulders again and squeezed her firmly to get her attention. Harry's eyes when she finally saw the serious look on her best friend's face. She sighed in defeat and finally bent down to listen closely as the brunette began to enunciate carefully in a slow, loud voice.

"That is what I have been trying to _tell _you, Harry! There is NO SUCH THING as 'skipping your period' for two months! Women – ALL WOMEN – bleed every month, Harry! UNLESS…" She took a deep breath and looked right into Harry's green eyes as she finished the rest of her sentence.

"UNLESS… She's _PREGNANT."_

Hermione breathed a sigh of exhausted relief and watched as Harry seemed to lag for a couple of moments. After about five minutes of her smiling calmly at Hermione in confusion, the brunette finally stepped away and watched as the confused smile on Harry's face slowly began to transform into a grimace that was a mixture of shock, disbelief and horror all at once.

As Hermione expected, the Malfoy Mistress was capable of only a single, ineloquent response.

"…_What_…?"

Allowing a wide, uncertain smile of congratulations to grace her face, Hermione finally leaned forward and dared to pull her ghost-white best friend into a tight, affectionate embrace.

"_You're pregnant, Harry."_

"……………………"

"Harry…?"

Harry was unable to hug her back and continued to blink and stare off into non-existence over Hermione's shoulder, her face frozen in a perfect expression of hilarious incredulity and horror that Hermione was unable to prevent an amused laugh from escaping her lips.

"…_What…?"_

Hermione would have smirked at Harry's persisting lack of eloquence but it was at that precise moment that Lorraine finally ran up to them with a loud, girlish squeal and pulled a completely frozen Harry into a tight, sisterly hug.

"I just heard the news! Oh Merlin, I'm so happy! Congratulations, Jaimee!" The blonde half-veela was practically bouncing with joy that Hermione forgot all about Harry's condition and giggled, joining in on Lorraine's laughter to squeal and bounce right along with her.

Amidst all their excited chattering, Harry continued to stare off into empty space and barely registered any of what was happening around her. Her green eyes were completely dazed and disoriented and she looked as though she had fallen into an absolute state of shock.

"…_What…?"_

Hermione and Lorraine never heard her as more of Draco's cousins – Alexandra and Nadine – rushed over to them and pulled Harry into another tight embrace.

"Byron just told us the news! Congratulations, Jaimee! I can't believe you're finally going to have a baby!" Alexandra smiled widely as she pulled Jaimee into another tight hug. "And about time too! Auntie Narcissa was getting so impatient; she was just about ready to have you checked into St. Mungo's for a fertility check-up." Nadine added bluntly as she gave Harry an amused smirk.

"…_What…?"_

The pitch of her shaky, one-word response had been steadily increasing each time but neither of the women around her noticed. At this point, Harry had broken out into a cold sweat and was now _very _close to hyperventilating as she watched them with unblinking – watering – green eyes.

"Merlin's beard, prongslet! This is wonderful news! You're bloody pregnant! Sometimes, I still can't believe it's with _Malfoy_ but still!" Sirius' ecstatic laugh had broken right through the girls' loud giggling as he rushed over to them and pulled his sputtering goddaughter into a tight hug, grinning and ruffling her hair in affection.

"…_What…?"_

Sirius didn't hear her high-pitched squeak as he grinned and took a step back when both Genevieve and Narcissa finally flanked around them, the former of the two women rushing forward and enveloping Harry's shaky form in a tight, warm embrace.

"Oh _congratulations_, darling! What a _wonderful _surprise for us on our anniversary! Lawrence is absolutely thrilled! He and I were just discussing amongst ourselves who would soon give birth to the newest Malfoy! About time too, sweetheart… Reggie and his wife are just about ready to try for another baby too!" Genevieve exclaimed with a fond laugh.

The minute she pulled back and saw the sickened, green expression on Harry's frozen face, she frowned in concern. She was just about to ask the other women about her condition when Narcissa interrupted her and swooped down on Harry's sweaty form like a predator to its prey.

"_Well! _I must say it was about time, Jaimee. I was getting rather impatient asking you when you would give me a grandchild. Now…To more important matters!" She ignored the way Harry's cheeks seemed to be losing more and more blood and gave the younger woman a wide smile.

"Have you prepared a list of possible names yet or would you like to ask for my opinion? I have already thought of possible names depending on whether it's a boy or a girl. I talked with Lucius about the matter and he agrees with me that it would probably be more fitting to follow tradition and to give the child a second name as well—"

"…_What…?"_

The single word had finally regressed into such a breathless gasping wheeze that Narcissa stopped and turned to look at the other woman in mild concern. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed the way Harry was visibly sweating amidst all their happy faces and looked as though she was ready to pass out – or throw up – any minute.

"Prongslet? Are you alright?" Sirius finally asked in concern as he walked up to her and waved his hand in front of her face, cringing to himself when his goddaughter didn't so much as manage a blink. Instead, she continued to stare off right past all of them as though she had gone into a momentary, psychological lapse.

Hermione hid a smirk behind their hands while Lorraine walked forward cautiously, raised a single finger and poked Harry lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. The other girl neither moved nor blinked and stared right ahead in a blank, zombie-like trance.

Turning to Narcissa, Genevieve bit her lip in concern and voiced out everyone's question. "Oh dear, Cissy…Do you think she's gone into shock? The poor dear, shall we take her upstairs to rest?" She asked uncertainly but Narcissa merely crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, shaking her head in response to her mother-in-law's question.

"Not just yet, mother…"

At the other end of the room, Draco finally seemed to have regained his consciousness and jumped to his feet, frantically looking around the ballroom for a sign of his apparently pregnant wife. When he spotted her and the rest of his relatives near the other end of the room, his face lit up and he spoke to himself in an amazed whisper of realization.

"I'm going to be a father…?"

"U—uhm…Draco, I wouldn't go near Potter right now—" Blaise tried to warn him with a wary grimace on his face but Draco purposely ignored him and rushed over to his wife with the excitement of a five-year-old boy on Christmas morning, pushing past several guests and friends along the way.

As soon as he had reached her, he failed to notice the smirks that lingered on both his father and grandfather's face and pulled his frozen, shaking wife into a tight, loving embrace. The guests watched the scene with amazement, noting the genuine smile and the look of pure blissful happiness on Draco's handsome face.

It took the Malfoy Head several minutes to realize that his wife was not hugging him back and the moment he did, he pulled back and peered closely at her. His smile instantly disappeared into a worried frown and he waved his hand several times in front of her face like Sirius had awhile ago.

"Harry…? Are you alright? Harry, look at me…" He titled her chin up gently to meet his eyes and leaned over to whisper something gently into her ear. "You're pregnant, love…We're going to have a baby…You're carrying _my _child. My child is _growing_ inside you…" He grinned widely at his own words and caressed her soft cheek, laughing at the stunned expression on her face.

A couple of meters behind them, Lucius nudged a smirking Lawrence and leaned over to whisper something into his ear. "How do you think Potter is going to take the news, Father...?" Lawrence merely smirked to himself and took a long casual sip of his drink.

"I reckon a bit like Narcissa."

After a long moment of Draco tapping her gently on the cheek to snap her out of her daze, Harry finally blinked once and seemed to snap into consciousness, her eyes darting hastily around her surroundings as though she was trying to comprehend what had happened in the past few minutes.

Blood slowly began to rush back into her pale cheeks when she noticed the dozens of concerned friends and family members that had crowded around them – all of which were now smiling at her and were giving her nods of acknowledgment.

Letting her eyes travel further around the ballroom, it was when she caught a glimpse of Hermione's encouraging smile that everything suddenly came flooding back into her like a tidal wave – forcing her eyes to widen in belated realization and to flick back to Draco's self-satisfied smirk.

_"YOU…GOT…ME…PREGNANT…MALFOY…"_

Draco smirked wider at her reaction and leaned over to give her a kiss on her cheek. "I'm glad you finally came around, Potter…I was starting to get worried. I can't believe you never told me—"

He never got to finish the rest of his sentence because in a quick span of about five seconds, Harry's green eyes had darkened into maniacal green, her flushed face twisted into a menacing, angry growl and she had raised a single hand up, reared herself back and slammed her tightly clenched fist right into her unsuspecting husband's left eye.

**SMACK!**

For the second time that night, Draco Malfoy lost consciousness and fell into another undignified and rather uncomfortable dead heap onto the cold, marble floor.

* * *

**A/N: **Hahahaha. I felt so bad for Draco in this chapter. Oh well…All the more entertainment for us readers, huh? *smirk* I realize Harry and Draco were both a bit naïve about the whole pregnancy thing at first but honestly…They're both _guys_. I highly doubt they would pick up on that right away without a little intervention from their friends. *giggles*

**Next Chapter: **More reactions, Harry FREAKS out, A cute fluffy H/D scene :D

**PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW, ALRIGHT? **Tell me if you liked the deleted scene or not, mmkay? Or give me any suggestions!*wink*** CHEERS!**


	5. It Takes Two

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: To the unsigned reviewer who KEEPS complaining about the pregnancy: I'm getting irritated. I will NOT write pregnancy as REALISTICALLY as you want me to because I DON'T WANT TO. This is a HUMOR FIC so I really AM going to use pregnancy stereotypes instead. Besides, the pregnancy is not the focus of the plot. Okay? PLEASE don't list down any more graphic pregnancy symptoms for me. To everyone else, I hope you enjoy the relatively fluffier D/H - ness of this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 5 – It Takes Two**

"_YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING BASTARD! I HATE YOU! YOU'RE NEVER LAYING A FINGER ON ME AGAIN, MALFOY! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I DON'T EVER WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU AGAIN! NEVER!" _

Draco was still seeing stars as he pressed the pack of ice closer against his bruised, aching eye a couple of hours later. He was currently listening to Harry's high-pitched screaming and angry cursing from the other side of the double doors of their master bedroom in Malfoy Manor.

It was much later that night and by now, all of the guests of the party left – leaving only the rest of the Malfoy family who had all retired and scurried away from the scene of Harry practically screaming her lungs out at her cringing husband during the long walk to their bedroom.

As the current Head and Mistress of the Malfoy family, they had an entire wing of the manor to themselves and fortunately, that allowed the couple privacy as Harry continued to scream the most interesting combinations of profanity that Draco had ever heard before in his life. Leaning backwards against the locked doors of their bedroom again, he paused and spoke up in a meek voice.

"Are you done shouting…? Will you please unlock the doors and let me in now, love?"

Draco cringed and hastily stepped back from the door when he heard what sounded like a large glass object crash noisily against the other side. This was followed by Harry screeching noisily again, her voice echoing so loudly along the corridors that when the passing house-elves heard it, they gave a horrified squeak and scampered off towards their private quarters.

_"LET YOU IN?! YOU THINK I'M EVER GOING TO 'LET YOU IN' AGAIN AFTER THIS, MALFOY?! YOU TOSSER! FROM NOW ON, MY LEGS STAY CLOSED! FOREVER!" _

Again, Draco cringed and held the ice pack closer to his eye as he dared to answer her with a cajoling tone. "Aw come on, Harry…You don't mean that. We've been talking about having children for _months_ now." He sighed and pressed his ears closer against the door, listening to her heavy, hysterical breathing from the inside of their bedroom.

"Come on, Harry…I know you're scared in there. I'm scared too…I realize that wasn't the best setting for you to find out. Just let me in and I'll help you calm down. _Please?_" He asked gently, making sure to keep his voice soft and pleading lest he incite her legendary anger again.

He was answered by a long, uncertain pause after that and he waited patiently, setting the ice pack down from his aching eye and handing it to a passing house-elf. He sighed in relief when the large, double doors finally creaked open and allowed him a brief glimpse of his wife's frail form from where she was sitting on the edge of their large four poster bed.

Peering slowly into the room, he noted that her face was pale and her entire form was shaking in agitation. She was biting her lip and rocking back and forth while hugging herself in self-comfort. When she looked up and saw him enter the room, the panic on her face darkened into anger again.

"This is all YOUR fault, Draco!" She grabbed the nearest object beside her – a vase of flowers right on their bedside table – and hurled it violently at his approaching form. Draco let out a panicked yelp and ducked, flinching when he heard the vase shatter into tiny, sharp pieces on the part of the door directly behind his head.

"C—calm down! I—"

Harry growled and hurled another object toward him again – this time her heeled left shoe – and managed to hit her panicking husband right on his shoulder.

"_OW_! _Bloody hell!_ _WAIT!_ Just calm down for a second here and listen to me—"

"ALL YOUR BLEEDING FAULT, MALFOY!" She looked completely enraged as she stood up, walked over to the small cabinet at the end of the room and began hurling as many objects as she possibly could at Draco with impressive force.

"H—HARRY! _WAIT—"_

"IF YOU HADN'T TURNED ME INTO A WOMAN IN THE FIRST PLACE AND GIVEN ME A BLOODY UTERUS, I WOULDN'T BE IN THIS GODFORSAKEN SITUATION! I HATE YOU, MALFOY! I REALLY DO!"

Draco ducked and dodged repeatedly as about a dozen different objects – from candles, to books, to alarm clocks and even several pairs of his boxers – came flying at his face. Harry's eyes looked completely maniacal. She seemed to have exhausted one drawer and moved on to another one – hurling more objects at his battered form.

Ducking as a whole horde of his books came flying across his head, Draco held up his hands in surrender and let out a desperate exclamation. "Harry, _PLEASE _be reasonable here! We both wanted this! You _LOVE _children and you said yourself that you wanted to have kids! I don't understand why you're so angry!" He complained as Harry's other shoe now went flying at his face.

She growled and grabbed a picture frame from the dresser. "OH YEAH?! THAT'S EASY FOR _YOU _TO SAY, MALFOY! YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WHO HAS TO WORRY ABOUT POPPING OUT A KID FROM BETWEEN YOUR LEGS! YOU STILL HAVE YOUR BLOODY CROTCH, DON'T YOU?!" She hurled the picture frame at him, sneering as he yelped in fear again and barely managed to dodge it by a couple of inches.

The picture frame shattered noisily against the bedroom entrance doors again, causing a poor, unsuspecting house-elf who had entered to clean the mess to squeak loudly and run back out the bedroom in utter fear and horror. Draco watched this for a minute before he turned back and gave his seething wife an uncertain smile.

"Now let's not bring my crotch into the fight, Harry…That's not the big issue here…"

Harry snorted loudly at this and grabbed another picture frame off the dresser. "_THAT'S _true…Since when has your crotch EVER been a BIG issue, Malfoy?" She taunted loudly and this time, her words brought an angry, humiliated flush onto Draco's cheeks.

He gaped at her in outrage, his silver eyes flashing furiously in affronted anger. "YOU LYING _BITCH! _NEED I REMIND YOU THAT I HAD YOU SCREAMING FOR IT JUST HOURS AGO?!" He shouted back, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he met her mocking sneer from several feet away.

Instead of answering him, she hurled the picture frame at him again and Draco easily sidestepped it this time. He finally managed to walk up to her until their faces were practically inches away and he could feel the anger emanating from her trembling body.

"Screw you, Malfoy."

Draco sneered at her particular choice of words and gave her a smug look. "Tsktsk…And you blame _ME _for you being pregnant…Have you no self-control, Potter?"

Harry's eyes widened dangerously upon hearing his words and Draco could have sworn that if looks could possibly kill, he would definitely have dropped dead right then and there. Still, that didn't stop him from taunting his former archrival further with another arrogant smirk.

"Now how does this fit into your whole new 'legs staying closed' policy? Because I have got to tell you, Potter… That feat is going to be tricky even for a sex god like me." His voice was tinged with a light hint of teasing humor – as was their usual tactic to break each other out of anger.

Unfortunately, it seemed that little strategy wouldn't be able to work this time.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAGH!"

Draco eyes widened for a split second right before he found himself knocked back down on his back onto the floor of their bedroom, wincing in pain as his hysterical wife straddled him between her legs and wrapped her hands very tightly around his neck. Slightly winded from the maneuver, he looked up at her angry snarl with a sheepish smile, his back and head aching in throbbing pain.

She looked down at him with wide, angry eyes – her teeth bared in frustration and her shoulders heaving up and down in exhaustion. Her legs straddled his midriff tightly and she kept her hands on his throat, holding him down onto the floor as she fought to keep a modicum of her control.

Sighing heavily and finally accepting her agitation, Draco met her panicked expression carefully and slowly raised up his hands– directing her gaze to them as a gesture of surrender. She paused and blinked at this in confusion, trailing her eyes back down to look at his face.

"Look…I won't say anything else tonight, Harry. Have at it…Punch me…Beat me up…Kick me as many times as you want until you're satisfied and until you calm down. I know you're completely freaked out right now…" He spoke gently, reaching a hand up and cupping her soft cheek.

Harry's angry glare flickered slightly and Draco was finally able to see the fear in those beautiful green orbs. She growled again and raised her fist higher – pointing it directly above his face. Seeing this, Draco clenched his eyes shut and stiffened – anticipating the pain that was sure to follow.

To his surprise…It never came.

Forcing himself to open his eyes, Draco blinked up cautiously and found himself looking up into his wife's beautiful – and terrified – green eyes. Her skin looked pale and clammy and the expression on her face was one of fear and uncertainty as she looked down at him, biting her lip and trembling so violently that Draco feared one touch from him would break her.

_Oh Merlin…She's scared to death…_ He thought achingly to himself as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her against him in a tight embrace. Harry's defenses seemed to collapse entirely at this and she fell down against him in weak defeat, hiding her face against his chest.

The fist she had raised fell back down limply and she wrapped both her trembling arms tightly – almost desperately – around his neck, pulling herself closer against his body until they could feel each other's heartbeats and Draco could sense the rapid beating of her heart against his chest.

Wrapping his arms tighter around her slender frame, he stroked her hair gently and leaned down to plant a sweet, lingering kiss onto the top of her head. The moment he had done this, Harry's muscles seemed to have relaxed a bit and she finally looked back up to meet his face, allowing him to see her pale face and wide, uncertain eyes.

"I'm…I'm just…_scared._"

Draco answered her by reaching up and brushing a lock of hair out of her face, tucking the long strands behind her ears. She bit her lip and spoke again, her eyes dropping down to the buttons of his shirt so that she could avoid his intense, silent gaze.

"I…I don't know anything about this! I don't know anything about being p—pregnant! Or h—having a baby! Or even being a _MOTHER, _Oh Merlin—" Her frantic voice broke out into a rant at this point and she buried her face into her hands, muffling her voice.

"—I m—mean…What if I screw this up?! I used to be a man and now I'm pregnant and i—it's all happening so _fast_ and I—I'm going to be a _mother_?! Wh—what if I can't do this, Draco? What if wh—what the baby n—needs is a _real _mother and I c—can't be one because I don't have any maternal instincts a—and—"

"_Shhh…" _Draco silenced the rest of her panicked rambling by raising a single finger and pressing it gently to her lips, looking up and answering her by giving her a small, reassuring smile. When she blinked and looked as though she wanted to say something again, he beat her to it by leaning upwards to reward her with a sweet kiss on the lips.

As she was caught up in the sweet taste of his lips on hers, Draco took that opportunity to pick them both up off the floor, sweep her form up gently into his arms and carry her carefully towards their bed. Once he had laid out her trembling form comfortably on the soft mattress, he broke their kiss and lay down beside her, leaning over her to stroke her cheek.

His other hand automatically trailed down to rest protectively over her stomach and Harry visibly stiffened at this, her eyes flicking back up to meet his in question. Draco didn't say anything as he reached down and very gently began to remove her sandals from her feet, sitting up and placing the shoes back down on the floor by the edge of the bed.

Once he had done this, he stood up and walked over to the large shared closet they had at the end of the bedroom – reemerging from it about three minutes later with a pair of her favorite silk green pajamas. Harry watched this all with confused, tired eyes as he sat back down beside her and slowly began to remove her gown – his hands so achingly gentle that his touch almost tickled against her soft, smooth skin had she not been so tense.

As soon as he had helped her slip into her pajamas, he pulled the silk white sheets over her blissfully comfortable form and tucked her into the blankets, leaning down and giving her a loving kiss on the top of her forehead. She realized he was still dressed in his tuxedo as he did all this but Draco simply lay down beside her again – outside the blankets – and pulled her against him so that her cheek was pressing gently against his shoulder.

They remained silent for a very long time – Harry staring off thoughtfully into space while Draco continued to stroke her long hair in an offer of silent comfort, his other hand gently rubbing small circles along the skin of her stomach. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Harry spoke up again – her voice coming out in a soft, calm whisper.

"I'm _sorry_…"

Looking at her, Draco raised an eyebrow in query and watched as Harry flushed and struggled for the right words to say. "I freaked out…I'm sorry. I just…" She took a deep breath before she continued to speak. "This just seems like the most unnatural thing in the world to me right now…Getting pregnant I mean." She clarified, failing to see the amused smile on her husband's face.

"I'm _scared, _Draco. I used to be a man and now I'm _pregnant!_ It's almost funny if you think about it. Don't get me wrong, I _want_ children, I really do. It's just that…" Her voice trailed off in uncertainty that Draco had to prompt her before she said anything else.

"It's just that…?"

She bit her lip and tilted her head up against his shoulder to look at him, blushing slightly when she met his eyes. "A child needs both a father and a _mother_, Draco…And I'm scared because...I might deprive my child of that." At Draco's confused look, she had to force herself to explain.

"I might deprive my child of a _real_ mother because I don't know how to be one! I know _nothing _about being a mother! A—and I keep thinking about the future and when they grow up…I want them to grow up with a mother they can respect and look up to." By now, her voice was growing more and more agitated that Draco had to squeeze her hand to calm her down.

"H—how can I be a good mother when I don't even know everything about being a woman?! I want to be a good mother but I don't know _how_! Mothers are supposed to be supportive and gentle and loving and sensitive – I'm a _guy! _I'm _reckless_, I'm _impulsive_, I'm _careless_, I'm _insensitive_—"

Her voice cracked again and she looked just about on the verge of _another _mental breakdown when Draco finally chose that moment to speak up in a soft, barely audible whisper.

"If it helps…I'm scared too."

Blinking in surprise, Harry turned wide eyes to her husband's calm features and watched as Draco simply met her gaze with a weak, helpless smirk. He sighed heavily before lifting her hand towards his lips, giving the shaking limbs a brief kiss before he continued.

"I've been a man all my life and I don't know _anything_ about being a father…I'm bloody terrified." He told her and he followed this up with another wry comment. "Remember, I'm a Slytherin too so I'm probably thrice as terrified as you'll ever be, Potter…" He quipped lightly, successfully eliciting a weak laugh from Harry when she heard his words.

"That's true…You _were _terrified of a Hippogriff."

"Shut up, scar-head."

They both chuckled at this little exchange before Draco soon sobered again and tightened his fingers around hers. He looked down at her so that he was staring directly into her eyes. "Harry…I don't think _anyone _knows how to be a 'good mother' or 'good father'. I'm just as scared and nervous about this entire thing as you are…" He tucked another strand of her long hair behind her ear again, feeling a wonderful ache of tenderness in his chest as he stared into her beautiful face.

"But everything is going to be _okay…_ You know why…? Because I'm going to be right here with you through all this…And we're going to go through this together. The _two _of us. I _promise…_" Draco's voice had grown so gentle and reassuring as he said this that Harry felt something inside her melt at his words.

Without meaning to, a genuine smile crept its way onto her face and she reached up to cup his cheek, her eyes slightly glassy with unspoken emotion. "You know you can be so uncharacteristically _sappy _sometimes. I need to ask again...Are you _sure_ you're not the girl in this relationship?" She teased gently, managing a weak laugh when Draco's face darkened into a scowl and he glared indignantly at her.

Then, with a mischievous smirk, he answered her question by moving his hand up under her pajama top and daringly grabbing and squeezing her left breast. "I'm pretty sure I don't have one of _these_, Potter…Does that answer your question?" He mocked pointedly, causing his wife to growl and slap his hand away in annoyance.

"Pervert."

"Git."

"Arse."

"Bitch."

"…Sappy…melodramatic…_Hufflepuff."_

"……………Oh you are _ASKING_ for it, Potter!"

Jaimee ended up laughing as Draco pounced on her and began tickling her sides and playfully nuzzling her neck. He grinned to himself when he heard her laughter and the way the sweet sound seemed to fill the silence of their large bedroom and echoed along the cold, luxurious hallways.

As soon as they had both exhausted themselves in their hilarity, Draco gave her one last nuzzle before he got up and walked back over to their closet to change into his own pajamas. When he got back, the sight that greeted him was one that brought a tender smile to his face.

Jaimee was standing in front of the full-length mirror by the closet, one of her hands lifting up her pajama top and the other one caressing her flat stomach with a mixture of awe, amazement and wonder written all over her face. When she saw him looking at her, she blushed right away but offered him a sheepish smile and beckoned him over to her.

He stood directly in front of her when she grabbed his hand again and placed it on her bare stomach, looking up with bright eyes to give him a wide elated smile.

"I'm…really _pregnant…" _Harry looked as though she had just realized this fully for the first time that it brought a laugh to Draco's lips when he saw the childish excitement on her face. She guided his hand in caressing her stomach gently and spoke up in another reverent whisper.

"We're…going to have a _baby…_" Her eyes widened slightly at this – as though the news both shocked and scared her. She looked so at odds with herself at that one moment that Draco would have said something had she not finally burst out in a loud exclamation.

"_WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!"_

Once again, Draco found himself painfully winded as Jaimee launched herself at him and threw her arms around his neck, causing the both of them to keel backwards in a clumsy, laughing heap of entangled limbs onto the floor.

* * *

"Knock, knock."

A haggard-looking Harry looked up from the horrendously piled stacks of reports on her desk and found herself looking up at Vincent Ashford's handsome, smirking face as he entered her office in the Unspeakable department the next morning. The Head Unspeakable was carrying several more thick stacks of papers and folders in his hand and was giving her a curious look.

"You think you can handle a bit more, Potter…?" He asked lightly as he walked over to her desk and placed the stacks he held on top of the ones already in front of her. The former Gryffindor grunted loudly in growing exhaustion and frustration.

"Ashford, I'm already _STACKED_ up to my bloody neck here! Can't you give those reports to someone else? I might not be able to do my field assignment later if you keep this up!" Harry complained loudly as Ashford made to walk back out of the room. At her words, he paused and turned around briefly to level her with a slightly wary, uncertain smile.

"…_Field_ assignment? What are you talking about, Harry…?" He smirked and leaned against the door frame of her office, crossing his arms over his chest. Harry looked at him as though he was crazy, raising both her eyebrows in annoyance.

"My _field_ assignment? You know…the one you assigned to me last week? I'm supposed to head out to China today for another search and rescue operation…Don't you remember?" She asked him pointedly, leafing through the mess of papers on her desk in growing agitation.

"Ugh! I don't know how I'm going to finish all these reports by today, I'm _swamped—"_

Ashford whistled and shook his head at her, flicking his wrist lazily to check the time. "Oh you won't be going on any more field missions any time soon, Potter…" He answered her easily, smirking wider when Harry froze and blinked up at him with a gaping jaw.

"Excuse me?"

He pretended not to notice the biting anger in her voice and casually brushed several black bangs out of his eyes. He gave her a lazy grin. "I'm afraid I can't let you out on assignments in your current condition as of the moment…Ministry policy." He told her nonchalantly, shrugging when Harry shot out of her seat and practically loomed over him in rage.

"_WHAT?!_ But that's _discrimination!_ You can't just stick me to the sidelines because I'm_…_I'm…"

"_Pregnant?"_ Ashford supplied bluntly, looking completely disinterested as he raised an eyebrow at her seething face. Before she could manage to say anything else, he smirked and pulled a piece of sealed up parchment from his robes and placed it down onto her table.

"Your husband made particularly sure of it, actually. He wrote to me this morning – a legal decree signed by about a dozen Wizarding lawyers just to make sure I'm aware of your condition and that—" Ashford paused in the middle of his drawl and waited until Harry began reading the letter before he continued any further.

"—well by his words at least, 'I keep his wife or his child out of _any _harm's way or he'll have the entire Wizengamot on my arse and send me rotting away in Azkaban'. Such a likable man, Draco Malfoy…" Ashford commented sarcastically as a red-faced Harry slammed the parchment back down onto her table in outrage and let out a stream of interesting curse words.

"That _BASTARD! _I'm going to march over there and kick his Slytherin arse—" Harry was cut off when Ashford raised a single hand and gestured sharply for her to remain in her seat. One look at the irritated expression on her boss' face was all it took for her to sit back down in a huff.

"As riveting as I find the idea of you 'kicking Malfoy's arse', Potter…I need you _here_ to finish those reports. I'll be handing over your pending missions and assignments to Byron and Spencer for the remainder of your pregnancy." Harry opened her mouth to protest again but Ashford continued before she could manage to say anything.

"As for your maternity leave, you are entitled to twelve weeks off work after the last month of your pregnancy so use the time wisely. Other than that, I expect you _here _and _on time_ as usual. No exceptions." He finished his explanation by meeting Harry's glare with a calm smile.

As he turned to leave, he paused just as he reached the doorway to her office and turned around to give her one last, sardonic grin. "Oh…And convey my congratulations to your husband. Congratulations too for…getting yourself knocked up." The last few words of his sentence came out in such an awkward, slightly sarcastic tone of voice that Harry rolled her eyes as she watched him leave.

"Pompous arse…" She muttered under her breath as she sighed and began rifling through the parchments on her desk again. After about a full hour of this, she let out an exasperated sigh of frustration and let her head fall back down onto her desk with a loud 'thunk' followed by her repeatedly pounding her fist on the table.

_Argh! I can't believe I'm going to go through NINE MONTHS of this boring clerical rubbish! Argh! I officially hate being pregnant more than I hate being the boy-who-lived!_ She thought darkly to herself as she banged her head on the table a couple more times in her hopeless misery.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the chuckling figure who was now standing at the door to her office and was giving her a sympathetic grin.

"…Tough, huh? I hear you'll be stuck in the office from now on…"

Looking up at the sound of Byron's voice, Harry managed a weak smile as he entered the room and plopped himself down on the seat opposite her desk. He offered her the apple he held in his hand but when she shook her head, he shrugged and chomped down hard on its side.

"It's _rubbish, _actually… You know I don't actually _feel _any different at all for somebody who's carrying another person inside her uterus. Is that strange…?" She asked curiously but Byron looked a little awkward as he swallowed his bite of apple and answered her with as a sheepish shrug.

"I wouldn't really know, Harry. But for the record, as soon as I'm pregnant, I'll tell you my answer." He kidded lightly, eliciting a laugh from Harry as she rolled her eyes at his antics. "Speaking of which, Auntie Narcissa wanted me to tell you that she's scheduled you for an appointment with the family Healer this afternoon for a check-up on your condition. I think they want you to confirm the sex of the baby." He explained carefully, causing all the blood to drain out of Harry's cheeks.

"Wh—what? They can _do _that? So soon in the pregnancy? I'm like what…Barely _two months_ pregnant?" Her voice cracked several times as she asked this but Byron laughed and patted her reassuringly on her shoulder. "Of course they can, Harry…That's the beauty of _magic._" He cast a quick look at her pale face and offered a consoling grin.

"You'd best get a bit more used to all the attention from the family at this point…They're all excited about the idea of a Potter-Malfoy offspring. I reckon they're going to get a tad crazier by the end of your pregnancy." He admitted, causing another groan to escape her lips.

"And so I've heard…"

Byron looked slightly confused at her response but she followed this up by pulling a rumpled copy of _The Daily Prophet _from under her desk. She gave him a pointed look and handed it to him, watching with a helpless sigh as his eyes widened at the front page's heading.

* * *

_**Potter-Malfoy Child: The Next Wizarding Prodigy?**_

**by Romilda Vane**

As confirmed by many of our reporters who had the privilege of attending the exclusive celebration held by the Malfoy family last night, Mistress Jillian Aimee Malfoy – formerly known as Harry James Potter, the legendary defeater of You-Know-Who – is finally with child.

Of course, the entire Wizarding World knows the dramatic sequence of events that have led to this historical incident. Just three years ago, we witnessed the developments of her momentous and somewhat hilarious courtship. The results of which ended in one of the most beautiful weddings Wizarding Britain has ever seen.

It seems we all just may have a little bit more to look forward to from Master and Mistress Malfoy. Historians certify to the fact that not only is Mistress Malfoy the heir of Godric Gryffindor himself but she also remains, to this day, the _only _living descendent of the Peverell family. Rumors have also claimed that Miss Jaimee is also related to Salazar Slytherin and is one of the only _three _remaining parselmouths in the entire magical world.

Now married to Draco Lucius Malfoy – the Head of one of the most pureblooded and powerful families in Europe – both magically and politically – Jaimee now carries the child that could very well be the next powerful name in Wizarding history after herself, You-Know-Who and Albus Dumbledore. The Malfoy family is not only bred with each generation's strongest, smartest and most talented purebloods but is also the only family who remains of direct sanguine descent from the royal family of Merlin himself.

It certainly goes without saying that we can all expect wondrous accomplishments from the next generation of Malfoys soon. In the meantime, let's all keep our eyes and ears open! Cheers!

* * *

"I knew it. That Romilda Vane girl still _hates _me! I think it's because I never got to drink the love potion she sent me back in sixth year. I never _was _good with girls…Figures fate would deal me in by turning me into one." Harry grumbled loudly to herself as Byron set the newspaper back down and gave her a wide, thoughtful grin.

"How _wicked _would it be if your child turned out to be the next Dark Lord or Dark Mistress?" He cackled out loud to himself at the idea, earning himself a _very _poisonous glare from Harry. She narrowed her eyes at him, waiting until he stopped laughing long enough to notice the way her eyes looked as though she intended to strangle him within the next five seconds.

Byron managed a week, sheepish grin and shrugged, ducking his head nervously behind his hand. "O—or not…You know…We wouldn't want _that!_ I mean…That wouldn't be _right_ at all and imagine the chaos it would cause." He laughed uncertainly and hastily changed the subject.

"So…Salazar Slytherin huh? How goes that?" He asked nonchalantly and at his question, Harry slapped a hand against her forehead and gave him an incredulous glare. "_FOR THE RECORD, _I am not related in _ANY _way to Salazar Slytherin by blood! I only 'inherited' his magic and my parseltongue ability as an _ACCIDENT_ from Voldemort the night he gave me this scar! It's all just a stroke of my utterly _HORRIBLE _luck!" She grumbled loudly, causing Byron to quirk an amused grin at her when he heard her next words.

"Of course that _SAME LUCK _turned me into a bloody _WOMAN_, got me married to my worst enemy and _LUCKY ME! _Three years later, I get _KNOCKED UP _and I'm carrying his kid!" She snapped sarcastically, snatching the newspaper from Byron's outstretched hands and causing the metamorphagus to wince at the furious ire he heard in her voice.

"U—uhm…At least you're a _pretty _woman…?" He offered meekly but he flinched again when all Harry did to answer him was to level him with another _very _horrifying glare. "Yeah, how _LUCKY _am I that I get to be _PRETTY _and have a truckload of stupid men staring at my arse every time I walk into a room?" She mocked loudly, causing Byron to break out into a cold sweat and stand up from his seat.

"I'd better get back to work, Harry…I'll see you later. Tell the Healer later to do something about your hormones, alright?" He gave her an innocent smile when she looked confused but before she could say anything else, he was already scampering out of her room and heading for his office.

_Ugh…Stupid male. Bastards don't know how lucky they are that they still have a crotch. _She thought darkly to herself as she snatched her quill and began working on her reports again. After another long hour, she was finally exhausted and she set her quill back down onto the table. She stood up and walked over to stand beside her window just behind her desk.

She stood there staring silently down at the muggle streets of London for a good couple of minutes before her cellphone blared to life and she flinched in irritation. Growling, she flicked it open jerkily and held it up against her left ear.

_"…WHAT?!"_

The person on the other line paused for several seconds before she heard what sounded like Draco's uncertain, somewhat wary voice. "Uhm…Hi love…Are you busy with anything right now…?" He sounded a little nervous as he spoke that it brought a smirk to her lips.

"Well…Let's see… A certain _someone _made sure that my boss gives me nothing but clerical work these next few months so…_Yes,_ I think so. Why, Draco?" She answered sarcastically but she soon regretted her crankiness about a second later when she heard Draco sighing on the other end.

"Did you read the newspaper this morning?"

She rolled her eyes and sat back down behind her seat. "You mean the one about me being pregnant with the 'next Wizarding prodigy'? Unfortunately, yes…" She waited for him to respond with a similar angry remark but she was surprised when all Draco did was chuckle in amusement.

"I'm _so _sorry you had to see all that. Look, I didn't even call about that….I just wanted to warn you that my mother is picking you up from work at lunch time today to take you to St. Mungo's. I wasn't sure if Byron already told you." He paused after this and waited until Harry sighed and answered him in a reluctant tone of voice.

"Yes, he did… Although isn't it a bit early for a pregnancy check-up?" She asked pointedly but at this, Draco laughed and answered her in a teasing voice.

"There's nothing to be scared of, Harry. It's just a check-up…They just want make sure your condition is okay and that the baby is growing well. I think mother also wants to know how far long you'll be so we can make all the necessary arrangements." He explained but his words caused Harry's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"Arrangements…? Arrangements for _what?!_ I'm having a _baby_, not a bloody _royal!_"

Harry sensed so perfectly that Draco was smirking on the other line that she would have given anything in that moment to punch the lights right out of him again.

"No…You're having a _Malfoy._ And we have to take _all _the necessary safety measures and precautions to make sure the pregnancy goes well and that my child is _perfect—_"

"Draco, _WHAT _did I say about your bloody perfectionist issues—"

"Alright, alright! Not perfect but still _healthy!_" Draco hastily corrected himself in an annoyed grumble. Before Harry could admonish him further, he spoke up again.

"Anyway…Mother and Father also want to know the sex of the baby too so the Healer should be able to tell you later. Tell me right away, alright? I'm sorry I won't be there with you later but I have a board meeting this afternoon and unfortunately, I can't skip it." He sounded genuinely disappointed when he said this that Harry couldn't help smiling to herself.

"That's alright…As long as your mother doesn't drag me around London to shop for baby clothes, baby burpers and stick-on diapers, then I'll be fine." She kidded but she heard the smirk in Draco's voice again as he spoke up in reference to her comment.

"……..You _do _know that there are no such things as stick-on diapers and baby burpers, right?"

"……………"

Harry's left eye twitched and her fingers tightened dangerously around her cellphone.

"…_Seriously, _Draco…_NO _maternal instincts here, rub it in why don't you?!"

"Hahaha…That was classic! I—I'm sorry! I'm shutting up, I swear!"

"Oh you find that amusing? I'll show you amusing, _MALFOY!" _

Harry let out an exasperated growl of frustration and flicked her phone right off, cutting off her laughing husband's half-hearted apologies and slamming the device onto her table. It rang for several more minutes after that but she glared at it, sneered and stuffed it angrily right into the corner of her bottom desk drawer.

* * *

_"Well what do you expect me to do, Vincent?!" _

_"I don't know! At least tell me if I'm just another one of your screw-buddies or if this thing is actually headed somewhere!" _

_"Ugh, Merlin's beard…You sound like a woman. I never thought men would get the same reaction about a purely sexual relationship. Much less YOU."_

_"That is different, Severus! Contrary to what people believe, I don't like playing around! I want a serious relationship and it doesn't look as though you're going to give me that."_

_"My…Perceptive are we?"_

_"You good-for-nothing bastard!"_

Byron bit his lip uncertainly as he paused just in front of the entrance to Head Unspeakable's private office, his eyes riveting on the scene of Ashford locked in sounded like a very serious discussion with Snape from the fireplace. Failing to notice him there, the two men continued to converse angrily with each other in hissed voices.

_"—Oh is THAT why you've been seeing that blonde skanky woman behind my back?! Don't think I don't know your exploits, Severus."_

_"I was never under the impression that you and I were actually a formal couple in the first place. Besides, don't act as though you don't have your own affairs every now and then."_

_"That is completely beside the point! I have never flaunted my affairs in view of the public eye like you do. Besides, I—"_

"Sir…?"

Ashford froze right in the middle of his sentence and whirled around in shock, blinking rapidly in several times as he fought to compose himself. The fireplace behind his desk fizzled for several seconds before it finally died out and the sneering face of Severus Snape disappeared altogether from the office, leaving Byron staring awkwardly at his speechless boss.

Coughing to clear his throat, Byron stepped up to the front of Ashford's desk and carefully handed over the folders he held his hand. "Sir…Here are those reports you wanted this morning." He watched as Ashford finally seemed to snap out of his trance and nodded wordlessly, taking the folders from his hand and setting it down onto the desk.

"Th—thank you, Malfoy…If you don't have any other pending documents to submit, you may go on ahead and begin your field assignment as soon as you're ready." He told him quietly with a nod, sighing and turning away from the other man so he could pinch the bridge of his nose in exhaustion.

Byron nodded at this but didn't leave right away, watching as Ashford took a long sip from the mug of coffee on his desk. After several seconds of this, the Head Unspeakable finally noticed he was staring and calmly raised an irritated eyebrow at him.

"…Yes? Something on your mind, Malfoy?" He drawled pointedly, blinking lazily as Byron's cheeks flushed lightly in embarrassment. Instead of answering him directly, the metamorphagus forced out a sheepish laugh and ducked his head behind his hand.

"Do you…like coffee, sir?"

The smirk on Ashford's face dissolved and in its place was a confused, stunned grimace.

"Excuse me…?"

Byron gave him a roguishly handsome, impish grin and shrugged, shoving his hands into his robe pockets. "I was just thinking about going down to that new coffee shop they opened in Diagon Alley at lunch time. I hear the reviews about it are pretty good." He commented lightly, noting the surprised amazement on Ashford's face.

"…Is that so…?"

At the slightly curious tone of the older man's voice, Byron allowed himself to continue. "I hear their coffee is exquisitely brewed…If you're one to appreciate it, I mean. What kind of coffee do _you _like, sir?" He asked nonchalantly, finally earning a reluctant grin from Ashford as he answered.

"The usual…Just sugar and milk. I'm not really familiar with all the different flavors of coffee these days." He answered easily, leaning back against his chair and watching Byron's antics with a decidedly amused smirk on his handsome face.

Nodding in response, Byron responded with another easy grin. "Really…? I'm into a little S and M with coffee myself—" The minute the words had left his lips and he caught sight of the way Ashford's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his scalp in shock, Byron realized his mistake and hastily corrected himself with a nervous, choked-up laugh.

"—I mean _NOT _into S and M meaning _sadomasochism _but S and M meaning _Sugar and Milk!_ Of course not to imply that I actually _am _into any weird, kinky sexual stuff or anything but—"

Again, Ashford blinked rapidly for several times in shock at his words and Byron had to bite his tongue in a desperate act to cut off the rest of his sentence. Inwardly wishing that the floor would just swallow him up whole, he forced out another high-pitched strangled laugh and turned to walk away.

"A—anyway I—I'll go now, Sir…I'm sorry for wasting your time."

He had clenched his eyes shut in utter embarrassment and was just about ready to bolt from the office altogether when he heard what sounded suspiciously like a _laugh _from behind him. Biting his lip in anticipation, he turned around slowly and stared in shock at the sight of the Head Unspeakable laughing out loud – probably the first time Byron had ever seen him laughing since they had met.

It was definitely a _welcome _change; however, as Byron openly admired the way Ashford seemed to look even more stunningly handsome when he was actually smiling instead of his usual angry glares or smirks. It took him several minutes to compose himself but as soon as he did, he looked up and gave Byron's awkward figure an easy grin and nod.

"You seem to know a lot about coffee, Malfoy…I'll tell you what. Why don't you tell me more about your weird _preferences_ and introduce me to some new flavors during lunch in that new coffee shop you're so keen about?" He asked easily, following his question up with a handsome, lazy grin that brought a genuine smile to Byron's own lips.

"Is that allowed…sir…?"

Ashford shook his head firmly at this and leveled him with a pointed smirk, raising a single finger up to his lips in a gesture of silence. Byron caught on to his meaning immediately and chuckled, nodding in understanding just as he turned to walk out of the office.

* * *

"_Really, _Cissa! I hardly think Harry needs all these medicinal potions and rubbish! She's only _TWO_ _MONTHS _pregnant!"

"Oh really?! I suppose _YOU _know so much more about pregnancy than _I _do, _SIRIUS?!"_

"All I know that you're being completely _RIDICULOUS!_"

Harry sighed loudly to herself and massaged her aching temples as she tried to drown out Sirius and Narcissa's longstanding argument ever since they had both picked her up from her office that afternoon. The two cousins had been at each other's throats the entire walk from the Ministry of Magic, through Diagon Alley, all the way to the Head Healer's office in St. Mungo's that Harry was just about ready to cut off her ears in her growing annoyance.

She leaned back down against the backrest of the chair in the office and covered her face with her hands, promptly ignoring the way Sirius and Narcissa stood just by the entrance and were debating on who would be allowed to stay with her during her check-up.

"She's _MY _goddaughter; _I'M_ supposed to be the one in here with her!"

"Well she's _MY _daughter-in-law and that is _MY _grandchild she is carrying so I have a right to be here! Besides, I'm a _WOMAN, _Sirius! I know so much more about this than _YOU _do!"

"Oh you think I _don't?!_ My wife just gave birth about a year ago!"

"Guys!" Harry protested weakly as she finally looked up and gave both arguing aristocrats a pleading look. Sirius and Narcissa both seemed to have only realized her presence and blinked at her, their faces locked in a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Look…I really appreciate you both wanting to stay with me through all this. But _PLEASE_ stop arguing. It's embarrassing and it's giving me a bit of a nasty headache." She mumbled as she sat up again and gave another deep, heavy sigh.

Sirius sobered at once while Narcissa instantly panicked and hurried over to her, placing her soft palm on the younger woman's forehead. "Of course, dear…Excuse me. _SOME PEOPLE_ just don't understand the pressures a pregnant woman has to go through." She drawled irritably, casting a glare at her cousin who simply rolled his eyes at her and sat back down on the chair beside Harry's.

At the nervousness he saw on his goddaughter's pale features, Sirius offered her a consoling grin and squeezed her hand. "Are you alright, Prongslet? You ready to get into this? I hear pregnancy can be pretty nasty…" He kidded but he immediately winced when Harry leveled him with a sarcastic smile.

"_Thanks_, Paddy."

Narcissa sat down on the chair on Harry's other side and was about to comment on this when the entrance to the office finally opened. A distinguished looking wizard – about in his late thirties or early forties – entered the room and walked over to them with an easy smile on his kind features. Adjusting his glasses carefully, he walked over to Narcissa and returned her smile with a brief hug.

"Cissa…It's so good to see you again. You're looking as lovely as ever." He greeted gallantly as he bent down and placed a cordial kiss onto the back of her hand. Narcissa simply nodded graciously at this while Sirius rolled his eyes and cleared his throat to direct the Healer's attention to him.

At this, the Head Healer blinked in surprise before giving Sirius a sardonic grin. "Well, well…Sirius Black? I haven't seen you since they brought you in here on account of insanity before you were sent to Azkaban. I hope you're not here for the same reason." He commented lightly, causing Sirius to return his grin with one of his own.

"I probably still am, you know."

The Head Healer laughed easily and nodded, shaking Sirius' hand briefly before finally turning and giving a nervous Harry a curious smile. When Harry hesitated, Narcissa spoke up for her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Richard, this is my daughter-in-law, Jaimee…I'm sure you know her already. Jaimee, I'd like you to meet Richard Wickham. He's the Head here in St. Mungo's and also happens to be the family's personal Healer. He'll be handling your pregnancy from here on out." She explained carefully, watching as Harry bit her lip and nodded uncertainly in acknowledgment.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir…" She responded awkwardly, looking slightly embarrassed when Wickham simply smiled and rewarded her with a kiss on the back of her palm as well. "Ah…The legendary Harry Potter. I have a couple of your old Hogwartian batchmates working here in St. Mungo's. They tell all sorts of wonderful, heroic stories about you during the war." He told her warmly, causing her to flush even darker at his words.

"I assure you sir… Those stories are told with far more exaggerations than what actually happened." She answered easily, causing all three older adults to chuckle to themselves at her words.

"That may be true." Wickham agreed with a smile as he finally sat down beside his desk and peered at the folders he held in his hand. "Well….Let's see then… Jaimee Potter Malfoy…20 years of age…Very healthy stats from what I see here." He murmured out loud as Sirius and Narcissa both took their respective seats on opposite sides of Harry.

Harry bit her lip and fidgeted impatiently in her seat.

"No allergies…No serious illnesses…Have you had any serious physical injuries in the past?" Wickham looked up briefly at her, waiting as Harry fused her eyebrows together in thought for several moments. "Uhm…Well…I _did _have to regrow all the bones in my arm back in second year. Does that count?" She asked awkwardly and at this, Wickham and Sirius both chuckled while Narcissa frowned in disapproval.

"I don't think that will be a problem, Jaimee. Now…Before we confirm the sex of the baby you're carrying, I'd like to go over with you a bit about the experience you're about to go through. This is your…_first _pregnancy…Am I correct?" He asked slowly, waiting until Harry nodded in affirmation.

"Right…I suppose the first thing you should know is that a magical pregnancy is very similar and _also _very different from a normal muggle pregnancy." Harry's eyebrows rose up in surprise at this but Wickham continued before she could ask any questions.

"As in the normal muggle pregnancy, you will be experiencing many physical discomforts. Have you been feeling fatigued or have you fainted these last couple of days?" Again, Harry nodded and Narcissa squeezed her hand gently in a gesture of reassurance. "That's to be expected. I'll be explaining more of those symptoms as we go along." Wickham paused for a brief moment and folded his hands on his desk as he chose his next words carefully.

"More importantly, you will be experiencing not only hormone imbalance but your magic levels will also grow out of control from time to time. That is the most serious difference in a magical pregnancy." Sirius patted Harry lightly on the shoulder when her eyes widened even more in shock.

Wickham saw her reaction and gave her a comforting smile. "This is perfectly normal, of course. Your magic and your baby's growing magic will tend to conflict with each other, you see…So you may also have difficulty controlling yours or casting the simplest spells every now and then. It's important you are prepared for that." He flicked her folder open again and browsed through her medical records in silent thought.

"I think on average, magic levels of pregnant women tend to start going haywire sometime around the sixth or seventh month of their pregnancy. This is the period the baby's magic tries to settle itself so you may find it causes a lot of strange symptoms within you…" Wickham trailed off at this and would have stopped had Harry not spoken up in a cracking tone of voice.

"Wh—what kind of symptoms?"

Narcissa chuckled to herself while Sirius hid a smile behind his hand. Wickham smiled uncertainly and continued. "That depends on the magical potency of the baby's blood. Your hair may start turning different colors…May lengthen or shorten sporadically. Your skin may change colors too, on some occasions. Random objects may start floating around you…Who knows? It's perfectly normal to be honest." He stopped at this when Harry began to breathe more heavily in growing nervousness.

The Head Healer waited until Sirius had gotten up and gotten his hyperventilating daughter a glass of water before daring to continue any further. "Anyway, the important thing you have to remember is that magical imbalance is not something you should worry about. Most of the women I've helped through their pregnancy actually had more complaints about the hormonal imbalance and physical pains rather than the magical symptoms." He told her, causing her to relax slightly.

"So are you saying I should avoid using magic sometime near the end of my pregnancy, sir?" Harry asked in mild concern and at her question, Wickham nodded firmly and gave her a stern look.

"I strongly advise you do. Also, it's _imperative_ that you don't take in any unapproved or un-prescribed potions. Do not undergo any magical transformations – animagus transformations included – or any form of physically altering means whatsoever. No apparition either. It could be dangerous for the child. Portkeys and Floo are fine." He added, pausing again to write down several comments onto her medical profile.

Harry looked severely disappointed at this but nodded and sighed, looking up and giving Sirius a weak smile. Just as she thought the explanations were over, Wickham spoke up again and this time his voice took on a slightly more wary tone.

"I _should_ warn you, Harry…Pureblood pregnancies tend to be slightly more difficult to manage than most if only for the reason that the baby has _concentrated_ magical blood and will most likely cause _more _magical imbalance in their mothers than most. I remember Cissa here had a pretty difficult time when she was pregnant." He commented lightly, earning a laugh from the blonde woman.

At this, Harry instantly spoke up and shook her head hastily. "Oh _no. _I'm actually a _half-blood_, Sir. So I don't think it'll be that difficult to—" Wickham cut off her response by raising an eyebrow and pulling a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ from under his desk, holding it out to her with a knowing smile.

Harry saw this and groaned loudly, covering her face with her hands as Wickham spoke. "As it seems, Mistress Malfoy…Half-blood or not, your blood carries _very strong_ magical potency. _That_ combined with your husband's will cause very unpredictable fluctuations of magic during your pregnancy indeed. I still say it's best to be cautious." He told her pointedly, chuckling again when all Harry could do was nod miserably in reluctant agreement.

"_Brilliant_…"

Sirius was trying hard to fight a snigger as he reached over and squeezed Harry's other hand. "I remember the time when Lily was pregnant with you. Prongs would practically tear his hair out because she kept floating up to the ceiling in her sleep and he would have to bring her down the next morning." He kidded, finally eliciting a reluctant laugh from his goddaughter.

Wickham smiled at their little exchange but finally closed the folder on his desk and stood back up from his seat with a nod. "Well then, I suppose that's enough introductory remarks for now. I'll discuss the rest of the normal symptoms with you after your physical check-up and after you confirm the sex of the baby. If you'll all just follow me—"

He was about to walk around his desk toward them when Sirius bolted up before him and suddenly gave him a very dangerous glare.

"Wait a minute! _You – _a _MAN_ – is going to examine my goddaughter?! That doesn't sound right!" He snapped in belated realization, causing Narcissa to roll her eyes at him. Hearing this, Harry also looked slightly uncomfortable but Wickham shook his head firmly and laughed at her reaction.

"All regular physical examinations will be done by my female assistant in the next room. I was simply going to escort you three there. My job now will be to guide Mistress Malfoy through her pregnancy." He paused as they all stood up and gave Harry an uncertain gaze.

"I _will _be the one delivering the baby though. I do hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable?" He asked kindly, waiting until she flushed but nodded awkwardly in response.

"Don't worry, I promise to make this as easy as I can for you. I understand that having a _male _background of seventeen years may not make this experience comfortable." He assured her, earning a genuine, although reluctant, smile from Harry.

"I appreciate that, sir."

Narcissa patted Harry's shoulder as she guided her to the office entrance. "Mr. Wickham is the top Healer in Europe, Jaimee. He knows exactly what he's doing. Now come on, let's get you over to the examination room." She ushered excitedly but when Sirius made to follow them, she whirled around and gave him a poisonous glare.

"And just _where _do you think you're going?!"

"I'm going in there to make sure they treat my goddaughter well!"

"_I'M _the only one allowed in there with my daughter-in-law!"

"Cissa, quit being such an annoying bit—"

"Now, you two…" Wickham cut off their impending argument when he saw Harry's pained, wincing expression right between them. He chuckled and indicated for them to leave the room as he flicked his wand to turn out the lights. "You're both welcome to be present with Jaimee during the inspection. My assistant will determine the condition and sex of the baby. Afterwards, I'll talk more about pregnancy with Harry in my office again." He led them over to the room beside his office doors.

Just as Harry was reaching for the door handle, an angry, shouting voice caught her attention from behind. She whirled around and watched as a haggard, middle-aged wizard dressed in elegant robes of blue stormed through the busy hallway of St. Mungo's toward them. The man was breathing very shallowly and looked as though he was having difficulty walking as he approached.

_"WICKHAM! _I need to talk to you _RIGHT NOW! _What's happening to me?! What the _bloody hell_ is happening to me?!" The man was screaming in panic as he rushed over to them, shoved the other three aside and grabbed at the Head Healer's robes.

One look at the man's obviously maniacal expression was all it took for Sirius to push both Narcissa and Harry back protectively behind him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he watched the robed wizard jostle Wickham by the front of his robes in sheer hysteria.

Wickham was barely able to give them all an apologetic glance before the man in front of him was screaming again. "I asked _what's happening to me?! _You've got to help me! I don't know what's wrong! I'm bloody terrified!" The man cried out with wide eyes, looking imploringly into Wickham's slightly nervous features.

"Mr. Kennicot, _please_ control yourself—"

Harry, Sirius and Narcissa backed away several steps and watched in uncertainty as a horde of mediwizards and healers came rushing through the corridor to whisk the hysterical wizard away from Wickham, the lot of which had to restrain him as he struggled desperately against their holds.

"No! No, let me go! All of you! You've got to help me! I'm losing it! I don't want to be a squib, I won't! Please! You've got to help me! Nobody knows what's wrong with me!"

Wickham's face was pale as he watched his staff drag the hysterical wizard away from them – the man's screams and pleas echoing through the confused and eerie silence of the other watching people along the corridors. Adjusting his collar slightly so he could breathe easier, he turned and gave Harry, Sirius and Narcissa a weak, apologetic inclination of his head.

"I apologize for that. That man is one of my patients…He currently has a strange condition we have yet to understand and lately, it's been scaring him out of his wits." He admitted with a heavy sigh, silently leading them over to the adjacent room next to his large office.

"What's wrong with him?"

The Head Healer looked surprised at Harry's question and waited calmly until all other personnel along the corridor had set back to their previous activities before he answered her. "Magic is all over the place. Growing weaker each day at alarming levels. I've never seen a case like it before." He paused and led them into the small, examination office.

Harry nodded wordlessly in understanding and cast one last look at the direction of the corridor the man had been dragged off. Then, shaking the thought away, she sighed and finally stepped into the examination office.

* * *

Harry found Draco immersed in a large book inside his personal office when she finally arrived home via floo from work that night. Peeking slowly through the slightly ajar crack of his office doors, she bit her lip and watched as the former Slytherin adjusted his thin-wired, silver reading frames before he turned a single page of the book he was reading.

_Just tell him. I have to tell him. There's no getting around to it…He's been asking about the baby all day. I just need to go over there and tell him. _She repeatedly chanted to herself in her head before she stepped back again and paced the length of the corridor just outside his office.

_Ugh! I can't believe we chose tonight of all nights to sleep in Godric's Hollow! If we were at the manor, I could have asked Narcissa to tell him earlier and saved myself the trouble._ She complained half-heartedly to herself as she took another deep, shaky breath and steeled her nerves.

_Okay…You can do this, Harry. Just go in there and tell him._ She nodded and was finally about to step into his office when she heard Draco's chuckling voice calling out to her from the inside.

"Harry. Get in here."

Still biting her lip, Harry sighed and settled a nonchalant look on her face as she peered back through his open office doors and gave him a curious look. Draco had looked up from the book he was reading and was watching her with a reluctant expression of amusement on his face.

She flashed him an innocent smile. "What's up, 'Co?"

He raised an eyebrow at her tone of voice and answered her by beckoning her further into the spacious room. "Haven't I told you countless times not to cut up my name like that?" He set his book back down onto his table and returned her answering smile with a light smirk.

"What were you doing pacing like a hen outside my office just moments ago? You _know_ I sensed you the minute you got home." He remarked knowingly, causing Harry to flush in slight embarrassment but otherwise shrug and offer him a crooked grin.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see…If…Well…If you wanted anything. You seemed pretty serious with that boring book." She indicated to the philosophy book in front of him and the expression of disgust on her face earned her a laugh from her highly amused husband.

He pretended to mull things over for a minute or two before he chuckled and responded in a teasing voice. "Well…I _could _use a massage, love…How about it?" He grinned as Harry let out a fond laugh and pretended to roll her eyes as she walked over to stand behind his seated form.

"You're such a spoiled brat, Malfoy…" She mused as she placed her hands gently on his firm shoulders and began to massage and loosen the tension in his muscles. She chuckled when Draco seemed to lean back against her touch and let out an appreciative murmur.

"You love me anyway, Potter…Mmm…That feels good…"

Harry smiled to herself but didn't deny his words, watching thoughtfully as Draco picked his book back up and began to read silently from it again. As she continued to massage his shoulders, they both fell into a comfortable silence – broken only a couple of moments later when Harry finally sighed. She leaned down, hugged him from behind and rested her chin gently on his left shoulder.

"…'Co?"

"Harry, _stop _calling me that."

Again, Draco rolled his eyes but the teasing affection in his response gave him away. He responded distractedly to her ministrations by turning his head slightly so that he nuzzled her cheek with his own though his eyes remained focused on the pages of his book.

"….Can I ask you something…?"

Draco raised a hand and turned to the next page before he answered. "If this is about me apologizing to Weasley again, Harry…My answer is _still _no. He was the one who taught his daughter to despise me. That whole 'ferret' incident in fourth year was _not _funny."

Harry couldn't help laughing softly at his blunt response but shook her head. Biting her lip again, she wrapped her arms tighter around him and spoke up once more in a softer voice.

"It's not that. It's about the appointment I had this afternoon." Draco paused in the middle of turning another page at this and finally set his book back down onto the table. He disentangled himself carefully from her arms and swiveled his chair around so that he could look directly at her face.

"Yes, I know…I meant to ask. You've been avoiding answering my owls. My mother tells me you have news for me, she looked really excited too. Is everything okay? How's the baby's condition? Do I have a son or a daughter?" He asked, pulling her down to sit on him so that her legs draped over his lap and her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

She smiled weakly at this and swallowed the forming lump in her throat as she tried to think of the next words she could possibly say. "Well…I need to ask you first. You were an only child, right? Did you parents mention anything about how difficult it was to raise one son?" She asked, her voice breaking out into a nervous laugh around the end of her sentence.

Draco looked confused at her question. Blinking several times, he slowly took his reading glasses off and slipped them back into his robe pockets.

"I don't understand. What do you mean, Harry? I was a _horrible_ baby back then. I screamed, jumped, cried, broke things, screamed some more, threw tantrums and practically ran all over the place. My mother tells me I was an absolute menace. Is that why you're so nervous? Because we have a _son _and you're afraid raising a son is more difficult than a daughter?" He was barely able to restrain the happiness from his voice when he asked this.

Again, Harry laughed nervously and loosened the seemingly stifling collar of the Unspeakable robes she was still wearing. Flicking her eyes down to avoid Draco's intense mercury orbs, she played absentmindedly with the buttons on his shirt.

"Not exactly…"

Draco's eyebrows fused together and he watched as his wife took another deep intake of breath and forced herself to look up. "So…We have a _girl_ then?" He asked but Harry shook her head again and gave him an uncertain, sheepish cringe.

"Well, what then?! Tell me!"

She cracked a helpless smirk of defeat and finally met his eyes. "Well…You remember how last night, we were talking about how the _TWO _of us will be together on this whole thing? You said that, remember?" She waited patiently as Draco nodded in growing impatience.

"…And?!"

Harry gave him a wan smile and placed a hand over her stomach. "Well…Apparently, the battle won't be a two-on-one anymore, Draco. It's going to be a one-on-one even for the two of us." She told him grimly, watching carefully as Draco blinked once and looked at her in blank shock.

"….What?"

She laughed at the high-pitched tone of his voice and gave him a beautiful, although slightly nervous, smile. "I'm carrying _boys, _Draco…_plural. _Identical twins. Barely 2 months now. They're both in excellent health and are due by the end of October." Pausing shortly so her stunned husband could take this all in, Harry looked up and watched the emotions running across Draco's face.

"T—_TWO_ sons?!"

The former Slytherin looked extremely pale as he raised a hand and used a single, shaky finger to loosen his collar. He looked as though he was having so much difficulty breathing that Harry blinked and gave him a look of concern.

"You shouldn't be surprised. You _know_ you have a history of twins in your family. Your mother told me this afternoon after the examination." She stopped and watched as Draco nodded meekly – only half-listening – and continued to blink rapidly to try and process her words.

"I—I do…I—I mean…My family _d—does…_B—but, _TWINS?!_ B—both _boys?_ W—w—wow…Ahaha…Uhm… Th—that's something, alright. Hmm…."

Harry had never heard her sophisticated, eloquent husband sound so clumsily inarticulate before that she couldn't help allowing a small smile onto her face.

"Draco, _don't _freak out. I need you. Otherwise, I'm going to freak out again too—"

"Wh—wh—wha—_hey! _I'm not _freaked out!_ Ahahaha…. I—I'm _fine! _D—do I look like the kind of p—person to freak out?! I'm fine!" Draco rushed out in a shaky, laughing voice – his tone growing a pitch higher as he swiveled his chair around again and pointedly picked up his book.

"I—I'm _fine! _T—twins are…_Tss! _S—sure we can handle _twins! _I—I'm thrilled—"

"….'Co?"

Harry was obviously hiding a smirk as she watched her husband struggling to continue reading his book despite the shocking news of her announcement. Draco blinked and looked up at her with an overly exaggerated smile that seemed almost plastered on his face.

"…y—yes, Harry?"

"Your reading glasses?"

"R—right! Hahaha….I knew that!" He pretended to roll his eyes as he reached for his silver frames again and shoved them right back onto his face. After another couple of minutes of him staring at the exact same, indecipherable sentence, Harry spoke up softly again.

"……'Co?"

Draco blinked and looked up at her amused smirk again, his eyes squinting and his cheeks flushed heavily in growing anxiety.

"…Wh—what is it, Harry…?"

"You're reading the book upside down, love."

The former Head Boy froze in shock before he masked it by forcing a loud laugh, taking his glasses off and slamming the book shut. "O—of course, I was! Th—that's actually how I sh—sharpen my wits, P—Potter! I'll bet _you _can't do that!" He reasoned lamely as he set the book down and ran a shaky hand through his hair, unknowingly mussing up the immaculate blonde strands.

Harry bit her lip and leveled him with a wary expression. "Are you _sure_ you're alright with this, Draco? Look, I realize _twins_ weren't what you expected but if it helps, your parents and grandparents were thrilled. They wanted me to tell you personally as a surprise." She paused and hopped off his lap, helping the sputtering former Slytherin up to his feet.

Draco supported himself up by keeping a firm grip on his table and answered her with a forced smile. "I'm fine, Harry. Twins are….Twice everything! Twice the sleepless nights…Twice the mayhem…Twice the screaming….Twice the crying…but _I'm fine!_" He looked just about ready to collapse as he made his way over to the entrance of his office.

"Draco—"

He turned around sharply and gave her a shaky, reassuring nod. "I just…I just need to get some air for a while. I'll be in the bedroom balcony if you need me." He told her, ignoring the worried look on her face as he turned back around and walked out of the office in silence.

Harry watched him go with a soft sigh, listening to his footsteps as he disappeared down the hallway. She walked back over to his vacated seat behind his desk and sank down in an exhausted huff, reaching over and absentmindedly taking the picture frame that sat at the corner of his table.

It was the framed, photograph of the picture they had taken together back in Hogsmeade during their seventh year and the sight of it brought a reminiscent smile to her face. After a couple of minutes of watching their moving figures in the picture, Harry smiled mischievously to herself in thought and set it back down onto the table.

* * *

Draco was leaning against the balcony railing and taking a few casual sips from the glass of vodka he held in his hand when she found him a couple of minutes later – the expression on his serious, handsome face one of deep thought as he stared up at the dark night sky.

She had only been about a few more steps from him when Draco sighed again and placed his glass back onto the balcony with a soft 'clinking' sound. "Harry, do you mind? I kind of need some time to think to myself." He drawled, trying his best to keep the irritation from his voice.

Harry ignored him and walked right up to him from behind, grinning mischievously as she wrapped her slender arms affectionately around his waist and pressed herself against his back. Draco stiffened and was just about to disentangle her arms around him when something green and white distracted him out of the corner of his eye.

Fusing his eyebrows together, he turned his head slightly to the side – his eyes immediately widening in incredulity when he was met with the face of a very poorly made green-and-white sock puppet with black markings for eyes and a mouth. It took him about five more seconds to realize that the sock puppet was attached to Harry's left hand and that she was using it to move the puppet's mouth.

"_Hello, Father! I'm your firstborn son! I reckon you'll be proud of me! I want to be in Slytherin when I grow up and I want to be exactly like you!" _Harry had spoken up in a ridiculously high-pitched, falsetto voice as she moved the puppet's mouth that Draco couldn't prevent a surprised laugh.

"Potter, what the bloody hell—"

"_I'm going to be Head Boy and Quidditch Captain and I'm going to be a POMPOUS ARSE. Just like YOU, Father! You're going to be so proud of me!"_ She continued, holding back a laugh when Draco's eyes twitched at the words 'pompous arse'.

"_Excuse me—"_

Harry cut him off by holding up another sock puppet with her other hand along the right side of Draco's head – this time the sock was red and gold – and distracted him by making it speak up again in another falsetto voice.

"_I want to be in Gryffindor, Father! I'm going to be exactly like my mother – she was so much better than you at everything! I'm going to be good in Quidditch; I'm going to be an incredible duelist! I'm going to beat my twin brother every single time like Mother beat you!" _

Draco was trying – and failing – to glare at her in the middle of all his mirthful laughing.

"Potter, you git. _DON'T _push it—"

Harry grinned at this and finally set both sock puppets back down, wrapping her hands back affectionately against his waist and resting her cheek against his shoulder. Once their chuckles had died down, Draco relented and placed his hands over the ones she had wrapped around his waist.

After a long moment of silence, Harry spoke up first and placed a kiss onto his cheek. "You know a lot of times; you forget to laugh, Draco. You always take things way too seriously. It isn't good for you, you know." Draco took in her words and let out a heavy, irritated sigh.

He turned in her arms and adjusted their position so that he back was leaning against the balcony railing and she was snuggled into his chest instead. "Look, Harry…I'll be honest with you. I'm _not _good with children…Okay? The idea of _one _didn't seem as threatening as _two _at the same time and quite frankly, now _I'M _freaking out. I was _never _good with children no matter how I hard I tried."

Harry rolled her eyes and looked back up to give him an amused smirk. "I figured, Malfoy. But you seem to be forgetting _one _important thing in all this." She told him, waiting until Draco gave her a confused look before she continued.

"These aren't just _children, _Draco. They're _ours._ MINEand YOURS – something that I never thought would ever be possible but here they are." She gave him a pointed look when she saw a hint of amusement light up his eyes. "They're _half-me…_but more importantly, they're _half-YOU. _It shouldn't be so hard to deal with yourself, right?" She kidded, looking up and meeting his gaze.

"……….Well, I suppose when you put it _that_ way—"

Harry suddenly shook her head and gave him an impish grin as she shrugged herself out of his arms. "Nope, you're right. I forgot…This is _you, _we're talking about. It's _always_ hard for someone like _you _to deal with yourself—"

Her sentence ended up in a surprised laugh when Draco growled and yanked her back against him, trapping her easily against his chest once more. His shoulders shook with hilarity but he gave her an admonishing glare.

"Bitch."

"Bastard."

She noted that Draco seemed to have visibly relaxed at her words and just as she closed her eyes and finally leaned back against him in exhausted relief, she heard his drawling, arrogant voice speaking up again to break the comfortable silence.

"You _do _know that BOTH my utterly handsome, intelligent and powerful twin sons will end up in _SLYTHERIN_, right?"

* * *

**A/N: **I did my own personal additions to the whole magical pregnancy bit. I figured it'll make things more interesting. :wink: Also, take note: I will breeze through the pregnancy (perhaps 3-4 chapters of it) since that isn't actually the main plot of the story. The plot will focus more on parenthood. :) And _YES, _twins are going to cause _MORE _magical fluctuations during the pregnancy. :dun-dun-dun:

**Next Chapter: **First trimester troubles begin….:evil cackle:

**PLEASE REVIEW! CHEERS!**


	6. The First Trimester

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: To the same STILL unsigned reviewer: I'm REALLY tired of this so I have one last thing to say before I ignore you completely: **Get a life**. Read an encyclopedia or a goddamn biology/pregnancy book. To everyone else: Aw… I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thanks you for all the wonderful support! Don't worry, I will CONTINUE to write for you guys and I WILL finish this story! You're all wonderful readers! Follow my lead and just ignore that reviewer. Don't let her spoil your fun with the story, mmkay? You all rock! *huggles everyone*

To avoid any confusion, please assume that this chapter occurs at different times THROUGHOUT the first trimester. I apologize if some of the symptoms may seem a bit exaggerated at times but I thought it would make things more entertaining. Hahaha. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6 – The First Trimester**

"Jaimee…I'd just like to warn you. Pregnancy has been known to…_stimulate_ certain hormones more actively in some women. This may cause sporadic changes in moods or behavior at certain times." Richard Wickham peered curiously at Harry's confused expression where she sat in front of his oak table in his large office.

"What kind of hormones sir? Is it something I should worry about or take medication for?" She asked in mild concern, failing to see the slightly amused smile Wickham was hiding as he wrote into her medical file. He paused, looked up and answered her with a quirky grin.

"Well…Nothing serious, really. You may feel slightly more irritable on some occasions…Especially towards your spouse. You may feel happy one minute or depressed the next – it all varies on the woman, to be honest. Your senses can also be a little more heightened. Also, don't be surprised if your sex drive increases occasionally, it's perfectly healthy."

She blushed slightly at the phrase 'sex drive' and tried to look away from him as Wickham politely pretended not to notice her discomfort. "…And the mood swings, sir? Are they normal or should I warn my friends about them just in case?" She asked, blinking when Wickham merely chuckled to himself at her question.

"Oh I'm quite sure they'll all be aware of the situation, Mistress Malfoy."

* * *

_Tap-tap-tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!_

Harry's left eye twitched dramatically in growing irritation as she tried to ignore Draco's incessant tapping of the tip of his quill against the surface of his work table from the corner of the room. Clenching her hands into tight fists, she shifted in her seat and tried to focus on the game of chess she and Byron were playing near the fireplace of the large, elegant family room of Malfoy Manor.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and she and Draco had spent the weekend in Malfoy Manor that past week – on account of the other family members wanting to congratulate her about her pregnancy. Draco was seated in the far corner of the living room, going through some work-related documents and files while Anton, Reggie, and William were seated and talking amongst themselves by the coffee table near the center of the room.

She and Byron were currently involved in a fierce game of Wizard's Chess for the past hour now and as she tried to concentrate on deciding her next move, Harry heard the annoying, incessant tapping of the tip of Draco's quill against the table again.

_Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-TAP!_

Ignoring Byron's confused look at her distracted fidgeting, Harry finally snapped and whirled around from her seat to glare at her unsuspecting, innocent husband from across the living room.

_"_Draco, do you _HAVE _to tap that stupid quill so loudly or shall I stuff it down your throat?!" She snapped irritably, causing the Malfoy Head to freeze in shock before he slowly looked up from his work documents and leveled her with a confused, incredulous gaze over his reading glasses.

"…Excuse me?"

Harry sneered at him and glared right back, her hand already itching to grab her wand from her pocket and hex her former rival with a nasty curse. "You_ HEARD_ me, Malfoy! I'm trying to bloody _concentrate_ here and I can't do it with you tapping that _BLOODY _quill every five seconds!" She growled louder, causing Draco's eyebrows to fuse together in utter bewilderment as he slowly – and very cautiously – set his quill down and raised his hands up at her in a mocking 'I surrender' pose.

She glared at him as he did this; her eyes narrowed into slits as Draco warily adjusted his reading frames and set back to reading his work documents in confused, meek silence. Anton saw this from where he sat and couldn't help making an amused comment.

"Jaimee, Draco was _way_ on the other side of the living room. You heard him tapping his quill from all the way over there?" He asked in confusion but he bit his lip the minute Harry's glare lifted from Draco and flicked over to him. One look into those blazing green eyes was all it took for Anton to cringe and offer her a sheepish shrug.

"B—but…_Yeah…_He _was_ kind of irritating. I have to agree. I'm glad you told him off. Ehehe." Anton ignored the death glare he received from Draco as he turned back hastily to a smirking William and Reggie and initiated another conversation before Harry could say anything else.

Harry failed to see the amused grin on Byron's face was she turned back to their chess game and made her move. The metamorphagus looked as though he was having difficulty holding in his laughter when he saw the utterly bewildered; questioning expression Draco sent him from over Jaimee's shoulder. Ignoring this, he turned back to Harry and gave her an innocent smile.

"Your move, Harry."

She nodded in acknowledgment and moved her knight several squares forward before leaning back against her seat and waiting for Byron. As the dark-haired Malfoy mulled over his chess pieces, Harry flicked her eyes back up and stared curiously at her husband once again from several feet away.

Draco looked intent on a particular piece of parchment and was taking a long sip from his mug of coffee. After he did this, he set his cup back down gently onto the table, readjusted his glasses and flipped over to the next set of documents on his table.

"Draco?"

The former Slytherin froze at the unreadable tone of her voice and slowly lifted his eyes up from his documents to meet hers. Byron, Anton, Reggie and William all looked up and watched the impending scene with identical smirks hid carefully behind their hands.

"..What, Harry?"

Draco's response sounded cautious and wary. He lifted a single eyebrow and gave his wife an expectant gaze as he waited for her response. Harry still looked remotely curious as she shrugged to herself and leaned back against her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

She cast a brief glance at Byron again to make sure he was still concentrated on their chess game – to which Byron responded to by hastily flicking his eyes back at his pieces – before she turned back and gave Draco a strange, nonplussed look.

"Were you….you know…_always_ this irritating _before_ we were married?" Her tone of voice had sounded so nonchalant and inquisitive that Draco's eyes widened in utter bewilderment and the documents he held slipped from his hand onto the carpeted floor.

"…_What?!"_

This time, Byron couldn't prevent the snort of laughter that had escaped him and he masked it by a coughing several times. Anton had sniggered while Reggie and William had both looked away at this scene and pretended to busy themselves with staring at the large fireplace in front of them.

Jaimee shrugged and lazily crossed her legs, looking back up and giving Draco another questioning look. "For some reason…I can't explain it. Your very presence just…_irritates _me. I don't know…It's just that…You're there…You're tapping too loudly… Moving too slowly…Sipping too damn noisily. _Moving_ too much. I can't help it." She said out loud, causing Draco's hackles to rise further at the sheer lack of logic in her explanation.

His temper got the better of him at this comment and he was just about to snap something back at her when William caught his eye from across the room. The youngest Malfoy son gave him a sympathetic smile, gestured frantically to Harry and mouthed the single word 'hormones'.

Understanding what he meant, Draco reluctantly – with as much self-control as he could possibly muster – squelched the insult that was forming in his head and narrowed his eyes at Harry instead. He stood up and began gathering his things from the table. "If it helps, _Potter, _I am not _TRYING_ to irritate you in any way." He muttered through clenched teeth, forcing himself to walk away.

He heard her laugh derisively behind his back. "Oh _really?_ Then you just really seem to have such a natural talent for it." She quipped and this time, Reggie, Anton _AND _William all had to glare at him in warning when Draco had whirled around and raised one of the books he held in his hand in an attempt to hurl it right at his wife's smirking, pretty face.

Byron was practically choking with laughter now as Harry finally turned back to their game in silence, ignoring the way Draco was muttering the most interesting curse words under his breath as he walked to the _very far end _of the room where he was sure Harry could on longer _hear _him.

As soon as he had sat down on another table and laid his things out once more, Harry spoke up again in the middle of reaching for her knight piece. "Bloody hell! You did it again! Can you _BE MORE QUIET_ with that_, _Draco?!" She snapped again in a louder voice.

The sight of Draco growling and practically tearing out his hair in exasperated frustration finally made the other Malfoys crack up as Anton, William and Reggie all burst out laughing. They watched in heavy amusement as Draco slammed his fist against the table, grabbed his stuff and stormed out of the living room towards his private office.

As soon as the Malfoy Head was gone, Harry's fierce, irritable glare suddenly shifted until she was glaring very silently at Anton, William and Reggie on the couch. She waited for them to acknowledge her as they continued to snigger amongst themselves for several more seconds. It was Reggie who noticed her glaring first and the minute he did, his laughter died in his throat and he nudged Anton and William sharply to get their attention.

Unfortunately, Harry's next few words cut off the rest of their hilarity. "Seriously. _LAUGH HARDER_, guys. You already sound like a pack of hyenas; do you want me to transfigure you all into one?" She threatened dangerously and one look at the daggers in her eyes was all it took for all three Malfoy sons to stop laughing and simultaneously bolt up from the couch in panic.

"I—I think I have to go do something in the kitchen." Anton rushed out as he gave Harry a nervous smile before scampering out of the living room. Reggie and William both excused themselves the same way and scurried off after him – leaving a completely oblivious Byron in the room staring intently at his chess pieces as he contemplated his next move.

"I wonder why there were in such a hurry." Harry thought out loud to herself as she turned back to their game. It took about five more minutes of blissful silence before Byron made a final move with his bishop and exclaimed loudly as he jumped up from his seat in triumph.

"_CHECKMATE!_ I win again, Harry! Hah! I _TOLD _you I'm unbeatable! Or maybe you just _SUCK._" He gave another loud, ecstatic cheer and began dancing around the room – stopping only seconds later when he realized that Harry had fallen silent and was staring at the chess board in shock.

Byron stiffened immediately when he noticed the expression on her face. She had looked up at him and gave him a wan, shaky smile. "Congratulations, Byron…I can't believe I lost for the third time. You must really be good at this game." She blinked and cast her eyes back at the chessboard and unknown to Byron, the emerald orbs suddenly grew misty with unshed tears.

"You _bet _I am, Harry! I didn't graduate top of my batch for nothing! Fancy another round before dinner—" The metamorphagus was grinning and was about to challenge her to yet _another _game as he sat down when Harry finally buried her face into her hands and promptly burst into tears.

"Y—you're right…I must really _SUCK _at this game! I feel so bloody _stupid!_" She sniffed to herself, her voice breaking and the expression on her face looking so heartbroken that Byron shot out of his chair again and began frantically waving his arms at her in panic.

"N—n—now hold on a second, Harry! I—I was only kidding… Th—that's unfair! Y—you can't do this to me – you can't pull the p—pregnant woman bit on me! I w—wouldn't know what to do w—with a crying pregnant woman! I don't even know what to do with _normal_ crying women!" He practically circled idiotically around her in a helpless panic before belatedly realizing he had a handkerchief in his robes. He handed it to her and stepped away when she snatched it out of his hands.

Harry buried her face into it and continued to cry louder – her soft sobs echoing down the silent hallway. "I—I'm sorry! I d—don't know why I'm crying…B—but I—I can't stop…" She sniffed again and her shoulders shook with sobs as she dabbed her eyes repeatedly with his handkerchief.

Byron was eyeing her with a very cautious grimace and looked as though he was watching a ticking bomb that was on the verge of explosion. "Y—you okay? You going to be okay like that, Harry? C—Can I go now?" He asked shakily, his eyes wide with uncertainty.

Harry lifted her face from the handkerchief to answer him but the minute she opened her mouth, another trembling wail came out. "I really _DO _suck at this! Ron used to beat me at chess all the time too…I never won against him either! I—In fact…I _NEVER _won at Wizard's Chess! I _suck!_ I'm _horrible_ at this game!" She ended up crying again and this time, Byron finally stepped back from her and began backing away towards the hall.

"R—right then…Ehehe…L—let me just— _DRAAAACO!!!!"_ He broke out into a run near the end of his sentence, his loud cry for help echoing through the long, silent corridors of Malfoy Manor.

He returned moments later with an irritated and furious Draco at his heels. The minute the Malfoy Head reentered the living room and saw the heartbroken expression on his crying wife's face, his silver eyes flashed dangerously and riveted to glare darkly at Byron's sheepish, apologetic grin.

"Byron…_WHAT _did you _DO?!"_ He growled dangerously, the looming threat in his voice unmistakable as he rushed forward and gathered a sobbing Jaimee into his arms. She immediately buried her face against his chest and began crying against him, unaware of the way he was still glaring at his nervously smiling cousin from over her shoulder.

"_BYRON—"_

The metamorphagus was already backing away and heading towards the door. "Well, it looks like everything's going to be okay now. So I'm just going to go—"

"_WHAT _did you do_?!" _

Byron cringed again and ducked his head sheepishly behind his hand. _"_We were playing chess and I beat her and she just started crying—"

"You played a game against a _PREGNANT WOMAN_?!"

"—t—then I accidentally teased her about sucking at chess and then she just started _crying_ and I didn't know what happen—"

"You told a _PREGNANT WOMAN_ she _SUCKED_ at _CHESS?!_"

Harry flinched when she heard Draco's angry shouts and immediately pulled away so she could look up at him – her lower lip trembling and her eyes wide and teary like a child's. "A—are you mad at me, Draco? I—I'm sorry…" She began to cry again and this time, Draco's immediately forgot all about Byron and cringed to himself as he hugged her to his chest again.

"N—no, love…I wasn't shouting at _you._ Shhh…Don't cry." He mumbled awkwardly – obviously not used to feeling of comforting a crying woman before in his entire life that all he could think of doing was patting her lamely on her back and stroking her hair.

Byron took that opportunity to back away again and give Draco one last, nervous smile. "I—I think I hear a call from somewhere. I—I'd better get going, Draco…Ehehe…I'll see you—"

"Funny. I don't hear anyone calling you, Byron." Came Draco's threatening, deadpan response but Byron shook his head laughed hastily as he finally reached the door.

"You _wouldn't_. The call's from…._God._" Byron had already scrambled the hell out of there before Draco could even blink at the utter insanity of his response. As soon as they were left alone, Jaimee's sobs seemed to calm down within the next couple of minutes and she sniffed softly, tilting her head up so that her face was turned towards his neck.

Draco dropped a feather-light kiss onto the top of her head and wrapped his arms tighter around her slender frame in a silent gesture of comfort. He held her like that for about a couple more minutes before he realized that Jaimee was no longer crying and was now more concentrated on nuzzling his neck and purring softly in appreciation.

"Mmmm….You smell _sooo_ good, 'Co…I could just eat you up…" She chuckled softly as she brought her arms up to wrap around his neck and she pulled herself closer against him, her lips already pressing several searing kisses onto the pulse point of his neck in growing desire.

Draco immediately stiffened and blinked several times, staring down in shock as his pregnant wife had now apparently forgotten about crying altogether and was now more intent on licking and sucking very heatedly at his neck. Cautiously untangling his arms from around her waist, Draco placed them squarely on her slim shoulders and pushed her back gently so he could stare at her face.

Her cheeks were flushed heavily in desire and her eyes were glowing with lust as she stared hungrily at him, her breaths coming in short, shallow gasps. At the wary look he gave her, she bit her lip, smiled seductively and began coyly unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt.

"H—Harry…? _What _are you doing?"

"What does it look like…?"

She smirked mischievously at him and answered him by very boldly moving up and straddling his lap on the couch, eliciting a panicked, high-pitched squeak from Draco as he flinched and turned wide, panicked eyes to the living room entrance in case one of his family members walked in.

"Harry! Are you _mad_?! First I'm _ANNOYING_ and now you're practically jumping me?! We're in the _FAMILY ROOM _for Merlin's sake! My parents are just downstairs!" He hissed frantically at her, flushing in imminent arousal as Jaimee merely giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She ignored his attempts to pull away and began to grind her hips against his, causing Draco's eyes to widen even more as he felt himself harden instantly at her ministrations.

Sensing his body's immediate reaction to her movements, she grinned wider and promptly shoved one hand into his pants, causing Draco to meep loudly and attempt to push her away. "Potter, _STOP IT! _Not _HERE_ and you're going too bloody fast!" He protested, trying to move away.

She ignored him and leaned back down to suck at his neck again, successfully causing the blonde's pupils to dilate instinctively in lust as he heard the groan that escaped his own lips. She stuck her hand insistently down the front of his pants and in his haze; Draco almost forgot to push her away.

"_Damn it, Potter!_" Draco made one last attempt to push her off his lap but the minute she moaned and leaned down to catch his lips in a fierce, hungry kiss, he forgot all about his protests altogether and found his own hands snaking down to squeeze her bottom from underneath her skirt.

The minute he did this, Harry seemed to smile in triumph within their intertwined lips and pushed a helplessly aroused Draco back onto the couch. She ignored any of his feeble protests and silenced them with another kiss right before she _pounced_ on him with the stealth of a female tiger.

"………_W—wait! N—Not so fast, Harry! STOP! HARRY!"_

* * *

"—frequent urination may be a problem as well so don't panic if you find yourself going to the bathroom quite often. I suppose I won't need to elaborate on the occasional bouts of nausea and morning sickness. You may _also _feel a bit more—" Wickham paused and fused his eyebrows together carefully as he tried to form the words of his next sentence.

"—let's just say, _responsive _towards the opposite sex. Men who may not _normally _be attractive to you may suddenly catch your eye – it's just your hormones talking, really. Also—"

"So you're saying I'll be…_randy_ a bit more?" Harry asked in horror, her raspy voice cutting off the rest of Wickham's drawn out explanation as she glared at him from across his table. The Head Healer bit his lip and gave her an awkward, uncertain cringe.

"I suppose that's—"

"But then it's like I'll be in _heat! _That's not right, is it?!"

Wickham looked extremely uncomfortable as he met her gaze. "In a manner of speaking."

* * *

Vincent Ashford looked up from his table across the semi-transparent walls of his office to see Harry walking out of her office for the _third _consecutive time for the last fifteen minutes that morning. Shaking his head and telling himself to ignore her, he flicked his eyes back to the papers he held in his hand and continued to read them in thoughtful silence.

He was distracted once more about ten minutes later when another familiar moment caught his eye and he looked up to the sight of Harry crossing the entrance of his office again as she made her way back to the bathrooms. Feeling a little irritated, Vincent clenched his hands into fists and pretended to ignore her – finally snapping another minute later when Harry reemerged from the bathrooms and made to cross his office again to get to hers.

Vincent finally slammed his fist against the table and flicked his blue eyes up at her.

"…_POTTER!"_

Blinking in innocent confusion, Harry paused in the middle of walking across his office entrance and turned to look at him with a wary smile. "Y—yes, sir? Was there anything you wanted?" She asked uncertainly as she walked cautiously into his office and nervously bit her lip.

Vincent leveled her with a fierce glare and tapped his wand impatiently against his desk before speaking. "Potter, what the hell? You've been walking back and forth from your office to the bloody bathroom for the past _THIRTY _minutes. It's _DISTRACTING!_ Can't you stay in one place?" He drawled, narrowing his eyes at her as Harry reddened and answered him with a helpless shrug.

"I can't help it, sir…These babies seem to think my bladder is a squeeze toy or something because I end up going to the bathroom every ten minutes." She answered him bluntly, hiding a smirk when the anger froze on her boss' face and was immediately replaced with awkward comprehension.

"I…See…"

Feeling a little bit mischievous, Harry grinned to herself and couldn't help making the Head Unspeakable even more uncomfortable with her next chosen words. "It gets _really_ troublesome, sir. Really early in the morning, I end up getting the worst morning sickness and throw up all the time. Do you know anything about it, sir?" She asked him curiously, hiding a smirk when Ashford gave her another awkward grimace and shook his head.

"Er…_No, _Potter. I _don't._ Why don't you go back to your office now?" He nodded to her and sighed in relief when she happily sauntered back away and did as he said. As soon as she was gone, Ashford shook his head to himself and dipped his quill into a bottle of black ink.

"Forgot the git was bloody pregnant…_This _is why I'm gay." He muttered irritably to himself as he turned back to his documents and began affixing his signature on each one. For about fifteen minutes, he was able to work continuously without any unwanted distractions.

He was just about to start on another batch of documents that needed his signatures when another sharp movement caught his eye and he sighed, looking across his office to see Harry standing up from her table and grabbing her jacket. The female Unspeakable looked as though she was just about getting ready to leave that Vincent had to check his watch to make sure it wasn't lunch time before he got up to call her.

"_POTTER! GET IN HERE!"_

Another innocent smile was on Harry's face as she whistled and walked over to his office, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. She met his angry, irritated glare with a wide grin and shrugged expectantly at him when she reached the front of his desk.

"What's up, boss? Do you need anything?" She blinked up at him in confusion as he loomed over her form in annoyance. His eyes pointedly inspected her jacket and the bag she had slung over her shoulder before he raised an eyebrow at her in question.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going? It's 10:30AM! Lunch time doesn't even start for another hour and a half. You _know_ you're not allowed to leave the office without my permission." He drawled slowly, his eyes narrowing when Harry answered him with a sheepish smile.

"Yes, I know that sir…But you see, a month ago I ate this really _REALLY _delicious sweet-thing from Japan while I was there on an assignment and for some strange reason, I _really _want to eat it again. I'm about to go out and buy some." She rushed out impatiently, causing both Vincent's eyebrows to practically disappear into his scalp when he heard her words.

"_Japan?_ You mean you're going all the way to _Japan _in _ASIA _because you want to buy sweets?!" He asked incredulously, his eyes wide and his voice cracking in disbelief when Harry simply nodded in affirmation and gave him another bright smile.

"They're called _Manju_, sir. They're _really_ good, I promise! I'm planning to buy about a couple dozen boxes when I get there, I'll let you try some!" She was just about to turn around and walk out of his office again when Vincent finally snapped out of his shocked trance.

"Potter! I am NOT about to let you use the Ministry's International Floo network to buy bloody _SWEETS!_" He growled, slamming his fist against his table and causing the female Unspeakable to jump in surprise. When she recovered, she blinked up at him and scowled childishly.

"But _SIR! I _really _MUST EAT THEM_! I can't concentrate!"

Vincent looked at her as though she was the stupidest person alive. "You _MUST EAT_ them?! That's ridiculous! What do you think this department is, Potter?! What do you take _ME_ _for?! _We are the Department of Unspeakables and we have not got _TIME _to let you go off to Japan to buy your bloody sweets! There is work to be done and there are lives to be saved! I will not have you waste time—"

Harry raised a single finger and gave her ranting boss another sheepish smile. "Sir, do you mind holding that thought for a minute? I have to go to the bathroom again." She didn't bother waiting for his reaction as she whirled around and scurried off; unaware of the way the Head Unspeakable's face had frozen in a cringe that was a mixture of incredulity and annoyance.

"_What the bloody hell…?"_

As soon as she returned, Vincent blinked himself out of his sputtering shock and cautiously directed his gaze at her again, clenching his hands into fists when he noticed that she was merely smiling innocently up at him as though nothing happened.

"So can I go now, sir?"

Vincent felt like shouting at her as he slapped a hand against his forehead and stifled the curse words that wanted to escape his lips. Before she could say anything else, he shot her one last glare and finally collapsed back down onto his seat in wearied exasperation.

"Go back to your office, Potter! _NOW! _Before I decide to give you even _MORE_ workload and you'll be pulling overtime all _WEEK_!" He snapped threateningly, ignoring the displeased scowl on her face as she looked down imploringly at him again. She remained exactly where she was standing, crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a stubborn glare.

"Sir, I hardly think you're being fair. I—"

"I SAID GO BACK TO YOUR OFFICE, POTTER!"

Harry blinked at him, her bright green eyes involuntarily flicking down to focus intently on the muscles along his stomach that were seen slightly through the material of his shirt. Raising a single eyebrow, she tilted her head slightly to the side in thought.

"You know you look really good in that shirt, sir…It shows off your amazing stomach muscles."

The moment those words had left her lips, she saw Ashford's eyes practically bulging out of their sockets in stunned dismay.

"….I beg your pardon, Potter?"

Harry instantly flushed and tore her eyes away with a nervous laugh. Pretending to look interested in the wall behind his desk, Harry began whistling loudly to herself and ignored the horrified expression on the Head Unspeakable's face.

"….Were you just _checking _me _out?!"_

Instead of answering his shaky question, Harry flicked her eyes back up to his pale face and gave him another angelic smile.

"…May I go to Japan now, sir?"

Ashford felt like screaming and yanking all his hair out in his utter frustration.

"_NO, YOU MAY NOT GO TO JAPAN! WHAT DID I JUST BLOODY SAY, POTTER?!" _He exploded, grabbing his jacket and cautiously pulling it over himself before the hormonal pregnant woman in front of him could make any more lewd observations about his body.

She blinked at him for several times before she calmly took the seat across his desk, crossed her legs and gave him a calm, thoughtful smile. "Have _you _ever been pregnant with twins, sir…?" Her voice sounded so deceptively sweet that Ashford stiffened and backed away from her as he answered.

"….I'm a _man, _Potter_._"

Harry nodded in careful understanding, folding her hands neatly on his table and pretending to mull over in her head what she was going to say next. "Exactly. You've never been pregnant before because you're a _man…_A rather loud, irritating one at that, if I may say so myself." She paused to laugh lightly at the indignation on his face before she continued.

"Now…I don't know if you know, sir…But _I _used to be a man myself before three years ago when a bloody potion changed me into a woman. Now…As a woman with a past male background of 17 years, you realize this is all rather very _DIFFICULT_ for me right now…?" She paused again and looked up at him, noting the definite cringe of anticipation on his handsome face.

"Well noted, Potter…"

She gave him a beautiful, saccharine smile. "_Thank you, _Sir. Now. Do you, by any chance, also realize that by _DENYING_ me the chance to go buy the one thing that I am _UTTERLY CRAVING FOR_ at this particular moment…That you are, in fact, _DENYING _me the one thing that might make me feel better today amidst a malfunctioning bladder, a truckload of BORING unfinished reports sitting on my desk – which I threw up on awhile ago, mind you – and the urge to practically jump every godforsaken male in this room?!" She said this all in a fast, straight and perfectly coherent sentence.

A stunned Vincent blinked once and cautiously began to move his chair backwards away from her in growing nervousness. "I realized that _now_, Potter—"

"Oh _good, _Sir! That's _very good!_ Then you might also need to realize _AGAIN_ that – _I AM BLOODY PREGNANT WITH TWO BABIES, YOU STUPID, INSENSITIVE BASTARD!_"

Ashford let out an involuntary meep of fear and practically jumped back out of his seat when Harry's voice had suddenly risen to a loud, angry shriek that echoed along the walls of his entire office. He stumbled clumsily away from her growling form as she shot out of her seat, slammed her palms down onto his table and began to descend on his cowering figure.

"_HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I SHOVED SOMETHING UP YOUR ARSE AND KEPT IT GROWING THERE FOR NINE BLOODY MONTHS?! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE STILL A STUPID MALE SO YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HALF THE HELL A PREGNANT WOMAN GOES THROUGH! SO DON'T YOU BLOODY DARE TELL ME YOU WON'T ALLOW ME TO GO BUY MY SWEETS BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, YOU STUPID SON OF A MONKEY-EATING, GOAT-FACED BANSHEE!" _

Vincent's jaw was gaping uselessly and his eyes had gone incredibly wide with terror as he stared up at her seething form, his face pale and frozen in an expression of stunned panic. All of the other Unspeakable agents around the entire department had also frozen in their seats and were watching the rare scene of the arrogant Head Unspeakable being screamed at by a very pregnant Jaimee with a mixture of amusement, disbelief and hilarity written on their faces.

Several offices away, Byron was having a difficult time trying to hold in his laughter when he saw the dumbfounded expression on Ashford's face. Normally, he would have gone over there to try and help calm his cousin-in-law down but apparently, Harry had yet to finish her hysterical tirade.

_"—AND I WANT TO EAT MANJUS RIGHT NOW! I'M A MALFOY TOO AND I'M BLOODY CARRYING TWO OF THEM SO I DESERVE TO GET WHAT I WANT! RIGHT NOW!" _Her screaming ended abruptly as she paused, blinked and took a long, calming inhale of air.

She let out an exhale, glanced back up at Ashford's unmoving, unblinking form seated behind his desk and suddenly rewarded him with another sweet, bright smile.

"…So may I go now, sir?"

The Head Unspeakable was looking at Harry in a way that could only be described as the way a normal man would look at a fire-breathing dragon. Pale and his eyes completely dazed, Vincent managed to lift a single, shaking hand and gestured weakly to Spencer from across the hallway.

"You called, sir…?" Spencer asked cautiously as he entered Ashford's office, his hazel eyes riveting sharply to Harry as she turned around in her seat and welcomed him with a bright smile.

Ashford was obviously still in speechless shock as he pointed a trembling finger at Harry. "A—Addison…N—new assignment. Go with Potter. S—see that she gets what she wants." He croaked out in a nervous, raspy voice, wincing and flinching sharply away when Harry jumped out of her seat.

"­Thank you so much, sir! Come on, Spence!" She gave the Head Unspeakable a cheerful smile over her shoulder right before she seized the other Unspeakable by his robes and dragged a slightly reluctant Spencer out of the office. Vincent watched them leave in silence, his face still incredibly ashen as he reached a single hand up and shakily loosened the collar of his robes.

From the entrance, the rest of the smirking Unspeakable agents heard Harry and Spencer's rather amusing conversation just as they were exiting the department's premises.

"Mmm… Spence, are you using new cologne? You smell like vanilla…"

"………I'm _GAY_, Harry."

* * *

"—appetite may vary sporadically. You may find yourself constantly hungry no matter how much you seem to eat. Try to eat as much healthy food as you can for the sake of your twins, it's important they get enough nourishment."

Harry cringed to herself and gave Wickham a sheepishly innocent smile. "Sir…Being pregnant means that I can't drink _any _kind of liquor or alcohol right?" She asked, laughing nervously as Wickham's eyes snapped up and leveled her with a fierce, pointed glare.

Biting her lip, she quickly averted her gaze and fidgeted with her thumbs on her lap.

"I knew that."

* * *

Ron and Hermione shared a look of both disgust and amusement across the table as they watched Harry scoop copious amounts of practically every dish spread out on the table onto her plate. She ignored their muffled chuckles as she grabbed several muffins from a nearby serving dish and stuffed a small chocolate one right into her mouth.

The three of them were currently eating lunch right in the middle of the large Ministry cafeteria that afternoon. Many of the passing officials were giving them curious stares as they passed – no doubt shocked at the hulking amount of food on the female Unspeakable's plate.

When she heard Hermione giggling to herself, Harry narrowed her eyes and gave her an irritated glare. "Mrarghh? Mrarghh shoo fuhhnny?!" She snapped, her words muffled as she accidentally sprayed Ron with bits of muffin from her mouth.

Wiping his face in mild annoyance, Ron blinked and answered her by handing her a table napkin. "Hungry much are you, Harry…?" He asked in amusement as he leaned back against his chair and watched as his pregnant best friend began wolfing down her food in a matter of seconds.

Harry gave them both an indignant glare, chugged down an entire glass of water and slammed it back down onto the table. "_HEY!_ Don't you _DARE_ judge me! I'm eating for _THREE_, remember?! You eat like this just to fill _yourself, _Ron!" She snapped, glaring at her laughing best friend just before she began gnawing on a piece of chicken leg.

Hermione laughed at the expression of dismay on Ron's face and handed Harry another glass of water. "She's right, Ron. Don't tease her. There are TWO growing boys inside her right now who need a lot of energy so it's natural she eats like this. To think I had it bad when I was carrying _Elliot…_ It must be so hard for you to be carrying twins, Harry…" She gave the other girl a sympathetic smile but Harry just shrugged and shoved another muffin into her mouth.

"It's not that bad _yet_, 'Mione. If anything, at least Draco can't fight back with me in my current state." She smirked at this and happily began to refill her plate with more food. Ron made a face at her words and shook his head. "Ugh…I can't believe you're carrying children that are half-human and half-_FERRET._" He kidded, causing both Harry and Hermione to laugh at his quip.

"I remember when _I _had those sporadic appetite moments. It was _horrible!_ I felt like whatever I ate, I just _couldn't_ seem to stop because I was still hungry! It was like having a bottomless pit in my stomach or something…" Hermione mused to herself with a small thoughtful smile, watching as Harry paused and took another long swig of water.

Ron snorted in mild amusement and began filling up his own plate with food as well. "You bloody women need how to learn to eat a lot more anyway. By the way, how are those mood swings coming along, mate?" He asked with a knowing grin, waiting until Harry looked up at him in thought for a moment before shrugging dismissively in response.

"You know, I haven't really had any yet…Strange, huh?" She chuckled as she raised another forkful of food to her lips. Ron gave her an impish grin and shook his head. "Can I please be there when you start snapping at Malfoy, then?" He asked, eliciting another easy laugh from Harry when she heard the boyish excitement in his voice.

Hermione ignored their antics and blinked at Harry in disbelief. "Are you positively _sure_ about that, Harry? I talked to Ashford a couple of days ago and he mentioned something about—"

Harry cut her off Hermione's question rather abruptly when she raised a single finger, sniffed and looked at Ron's plate with wide, horrified eyes. Hermione's eyebrows immediately fused together in concern and she rose up from her seat to grasp her pregnant best friend worriedly on the arm.

"What is it, Harry? Are you feeling okay? Do you feel dizzy—"

"Is that _LIVER?_!"

Ron jumped in surprise at the hissed anger in Harry's voice. She had directed her question at him and leveled him with an accusatory glare. Glancing nervously up at her angry features, he answered with a confused look and a noncommittal shrug.

"Yeah, it is. Do you want some—" Harry raised a single finger again in a gesture for him to stop talking. Her face turning green with disgust, she gave Ron another dirty glare before she quickly grabbed a paper bag out of her pocket, bent over the side of the table and retched right into it.

_"EWWWWW…_Harry!"

Hermione and Ron both cringed in disgust and turned away as Harry sat back up and wiped her mouth. She flicked her wand and promptly levitated Ron's plate of liver right up into the air, dumping it carelessly into a nearby trashcan in the corner of the cafeteria.

Ron scowled at her in annoyance. "_Hey!_ I was still eating that—" He cut himself off when he found himself staring right into Harry's dark, blazing green eyes. "—b—but that's okay because I was just about done! Ehehe! No worries!" He shoved a forkful of potatoes into his mouth and looked away, hoping that Harry would take the hint and leave him alone.

Unfortunately, the next few words that came out of his pregnant best friend were ones that even Ron could never have anticipated in his life. "Ron, did you know that the muscles on your arms are really well-defined? Hmmm. I can't believe I never noticed before." Harry mused nonchalantly, tilting her head to the side as her eyes fell upon Ron's left upper arm.

Hermione had to choke down the laugh that threatened to escape her when Ron instantly began choking on the food he had just swallowed and gaped up at Harry as though she had grown an extra head. Harry's cheeks had flushed in embarrassment when she realized what she had just said and she hastily tore her eyes away from the sputtering redhead.

Ron shot up from his seat, practically hyperventilating, and looked down at Harry with his eyes bulging out of his sockets. "Have you officially gone _MENTAL, _Harry?!" He croaked out, his loud voice causing several heads in the Ministry Cafeteria around them to turn in mild curiosity.

For her part, Harry looked as though she had just swallowed a flobberworm and was trying to choke down her embarrassment by munching heatedly on another muffin. "Oh Merlin's bloody beard… I just hit on _RON._ What in Merlin's name is wrong with me…?" She mumbled miserably under her breath, causing Hermione muffle more laughter when Ron gaped and sat back down in an angry huff.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he scowled and gave Harry a discontented glare. "_Hey!_ I resent that! Just what is _THAT_ supposed to mean, Harry?! Am I not 'hit-worthy' material enough for you now?! Huh?" He added after a couple moments of silence. Harry merely looked up at him and blinked several times, her eyes laden with exasperated irritation.

"Ron, I am _NOT _having this conversation with you."

"—Because _CLEARLY_, you have yet to realize the full strength of my charms!" Ron pointed smugly to himself and raised his chin up in masculine triumph. "You see, _THIS _package here is _MORE_ than just biceps and good looks, I'll tell you! If you remember, there were _DOZENS_ of girls lining up to date me back when we were at Hogwarts—"

Harry gave him a blank stare, smiled graciously and stood up from her seat.

"I have to pee again."

"—and _FURTHERMORE!_ A whole _LOT_ of women are _STILL_ hoping to get with _THIS! _Lorraine's lucky isn't she? It's not funny, Hermione! Wait – Harry—Where are you—_HARRY! _Oy!"

* * *

Wickham finally flicked her medical folder shut and looked up to give her a reassuring nod. "Finally, your cravings are likely to start soon. You may find this unexplainable urge to look for a certain specific tastes in your mouth and may feel almost _desperate _to do so. Do not hesitate to ask your husband to help you with this. After all, a happy pregnancy will most probably lead to a successful delivery." He told her with a comforting smile.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes darting around the room to make sure they were the only ones there. Once she had ascertained this, she raised a hand up to loosen her collar and finally spoke up in a nervous, embarrassed whisper.

"Sir…About the increased sex drives…Are you _sure _they're normal?"

Her cheeks flushed heavily after she had said this statement but this was nothing compared to the reaction of Wickham. He was blinking rapidly and looked as though he was desperately trying to keep a straight, neutral expression on his face as he answered.

"Well…They vary in very pregnancy, Jaimee. But yes, I assure you that they're perfectly normal. Why do you ask?" He peered at her and chuckled when Harry seemed to blush even darker and pretended to shrug and look nonchalantly out the window.

"Oh…Nothing. Uhm…Just checking."

* * *

Seated at the long, elegant table in the Malfoy Manor dining room, Draco hid an amused smile as he watched his pregnant wife heap enormous amounts of food onto her dinner plate. Harry was practically reaching for every single dish that was within range of her that he couldn't help chuckling softly and speaking up in a wry tone of voice.

"The world isn't nearing a famine any time soon, Harry…" He teased lightly as he reached over and handed her the plate of salad she was so desperately reaching for. Flushing red in embarrassment, she snatched the plate from his hands and answered his quip by sticking her tongue out at him.

"I may be eating for _THREE_ but the amount I take in won't _NEARLY_ be enough to fill your big head, Malfoy." She retorted, causing Draco's smile to fade into a scowl. He glared silently at her smirking face, unable to say anything back for fear of inciting her unstable emotions.

When she gave him another smug smile and happily turned back to eating her dinner, Draco sulked quietly to himself and moodily began heaping food onto his own plate. "You're just lucky you're carrying my children, Potter…Otherwise, I'd just _love to _shove that_—_"

"Finish that sentence, Malfoy." Harry threatened darkly as she looked back up at him with narrowed green eyes. Once again, Draco could do nothing but glare back at her in silence. They ignored the cautious looks they were receiving from the house-elves serving their dinner around them and began to eat their meal in silence, pausing every now and then to shoot each other dirty looks.

The room was filled with nothing but the occasional clinking of their silverware and glasses against the table when Harry suddenly looked up at him again in idle thought. She tilted her head slightly to the side and voiced the forming question in her head.

"I wonder how you would taste covered in chocolate syrup…"

Draco's fork froze midway to his lips and slipped from his fingers, clanging noisily against his plate with a loud clatter. He had to blink several times to made sure he heard right before he finally flicked his wide, shocked silver eyes up to meet Harry's innocent smile.

"………I beg your pardon…?"

Smirking at his reaction, Harry shrugged to herself and coyly dropped her eyes back to her plate. "Just a thought…Hmm. Now that I mentioned it, I suddenly have this _horrible_ craving to eat chocolate." She looked imploringly at him, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow in growing apprehension.

"I'll have the house-elves send up the dessert then." He answered nervously, the expression on his face still slightly wary as he eyed Harry's mischievous grin.

She nodded and smiled sweetly at him before raising another forkful of food to her mouth. Thinking that her previous question was just a momentary lapse, Draco was right in the middle of taking a long sip of his drink when Harry chose that moment to shock him out of his wits again.

"Draco…Is it just me or do my breasts suddenly seem _bigger_?_" _

The champagne Draco had just sipped into his mouth ended up being sprayed all over the clean marble floor of the dining room. He coughed several times to clear his throat before looking at his wife with a mixture of shock, scandal and incredulity written all over his face.

"_…What?!"_

Jaimee was looking down the neckline of her dress and using a single finger to poke at her breasts in avid curiosity, laughing to herself before she looked back up and met Draco's stunned, gaping expression. "Well? _Don't _they? They feel so heavy to me, all of a sudden…And lately, they've been feeling _really _tender and sensitive. Is that _normal?_" She asked, rolling her eyes when all her stunned husband seemed capable of doing was sputtering awkwardly in response.

"U—Uhm…I uh…I don't know...M—maybe you're just imagining things, Harry..."

He swallowed audibly and took a long swig of his drink again, his hands shaking as he dropped the now empty glass down onto the table. Harry sighed loudly to herself in exasperation and shot up from her seat – walking over to him until she was standing directly in front of his pale, shaking figure.

"I'm _telling_ you! They're definitely bigger! Look, touch them!" She grabbed his hand and shoved it down the neckline of her dress, causing Draco to meep again as several of the house-elves gathered around the dining table blushed in embarrassment and hastily scurried out of the room.

His face burning bright red, Draco shifted uncomfortably to hide the growing arousal in his pants and answered her by giving her a nervously plastered smile. "R—right…They definitely _feel _bigger—" He felt himself blushing darker when his hand involuntarily squeezed her breast as though out of its own accord. "—and _softer…_Actually, they feel…really _nice…_"

Harry's left eye twitched at his perverted comment. She glared down knowingly at his rather sheepish smile, shaking her head when Draco flushed even darker in realization. Clearing his throat, he yanked his hand away as though she had caught on fire and allowed a nervous laugh.

"A—anyway! Where's that house-elf?! You should try the chocolate truffle cake Grandmother baked this morning! It's the _breast_ cake ever—"

"…'Co?" Harry was obviously trying to hide a smile as she walked back over to her seat and sat down. Draco pretended to hide his embarrassment by rolling his eyes. "Haven't I told you _not _to call me that, Harry? I happen to like my name and I hate it when people cut if up like that—"

"_Draco?"_

"What?!"

She leaned back against her chair and gave him a smug smile. "You said _breast_. Breast _CAKE _ever. You are such a _PERVERT!_ Hahaha!" Her shoulders began to shake with pent-up laughter when Draco's cheeks flushed red again and he glared menacingly at her in warning.

"I said _BEST!_ BEST cake EVER. Get your bloody ears cleaned!" He growled but it didn't have the same effect as Harry just gave him another teasing wink.

"No, you didn't! You said BEST."

"I said _BREAST! _Wait – _NO! BEST! BEST, _damn it! POTTER!"

Harry was in absolute hysterics at this point and was having difficulty breathing in between her laughter. After about a moment of glaring at her, Draco finally relented and smiled as he watched her, admiring the way her cheeks were flushed slightly with an endearing shade of pink.

When she noticed his intense staring, her laughter died down and she pretended to look away to hide the growing blush on her face. Smirking at her adorable reaction, Draco was just about to stand up and walk right over to her when Harry froze abruptly in the middle of eating her dinner and gasped, her eyes growing to the size of saucers as they riveted to his face.

Draco was by her side in a heartbeat – his handsome face creased in worry as he knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her stomach. "What is it? Is it the babies? Are you alright? Do you need anything? Shall I carry you upstairs? Do you need to rest?!" He rushed all these out hastily in panic, his other hand reaching up to cup her cheek in concern.

She shook her head furiously and swatted his hands away, standing up straighter in her seat and glancing around the table. "No, it's not that! I'm _fine! _I just really have this sudden craving to eat…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes roamed around the table again in growing annoyance.

Draco felt a twinge of ire at her words as he stood back up and glared down at her form. "That's _it?!_ A sudden _craving?!_ What the bloody hell Potter, you got me panicked over nothing! What do you want to eat _now _anyway?! I'll send the house-elves to fetch it for you—"

"_Sugar-apple!" _Harry exclaimed cheerfully as she got up to her feet and looked imploringly up at him, reaching up to coyly adjust his collar. Draco peered down at her and irritably raised a single, aristocratic eyebrow. "Sugar apple? You mean like an apple coated in sugar or something?" He asked in a deadpan voice as he raised a hand and indicated lazily to a nearby house-elf.

Just as the house-elf was walking over to them, however, Harry shook her head fiercely at his words and gave her husband an angry, impatient glare. "_No!_ You git! I meant a _Sugar-apple! _A _Sweetsop!_ It's an actual sweet fruit with that name…I was able to eat it once when I was out on a mission. It has got the most delicious; amazing smell…I _really _want one." She looked up at him and gave him another imploring smile that Draco sighed in defeat and indicated to the house-elf again.

"Hold on…Whatever that is, I'll ask a house-elf to buy you some. Where did you eat it anyway?" He asked, smiling reluctantly when Harry's eyes instantly brightened at his words. Smiling happily, she wrapped her arms coyly around his neck and gave him a teasing, beautiful smile.

"…But Draco….I don't want the house-elf to get it for me…I want _you _to buy it. I don't know why but it seems it'll taste so much better that way…Does that make any sense?"

"None whatsoever, Potter. No bleeding way." Was Draco's immediate, deadpan response.

"Draco, _pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase…………"_

She looked up at him through long, elegant lashes, watching exasperation and irritation coursing through Draco's features as he firmly shook his head again. Resorting to more Slytherin tendencies, Harry opted to try one last time. She scowled and raised big, glassy green eyes up at him in a beautifully pouting expression that she had often observed Hermione and Lorraine using occasionally on their husbands whenever they wanted something.

Apparently, the little trick seemed to work as her stubborn husband cracked almost instantly.

"…Ugh…Don't look at me like that! _Fine, _you little Slytherin minx! But I'm only doing this for you because you're pregnant. I'm the Head of this family, I'm not meant to be sent out on errands to buy bloody fruits for you." He drawled arrogantly, rolling his eyes as he waved the waiting house-elves around them away in dismissal.

When he turned back to face her, Jaimee was looking up at him with another bright smile and was wrapping her arms tighter around his neck in gratitude. Draco simply rolled his eyes to himself at her reaction. He reached down to place his hands on her shoulders and pushed her slightly away from him so he could look questioningly into her eyes.

"Whatever, Potter. Now where in Merlin's name did you buy that sodding _sugar-apple_? Hurry up and tell me, I have a truckload of work that has to be finished by tonight." He complained loudly, waiting as Harry seemed to pause for several minutes in thought. After about a moment, she suddenly cringed in realization and looked up at him to give him a sheepish smile.

"…Guatemala?"

"_WHAT?!"_

Draco's eyes had grown to the size of saucers and he had flushed in disbelieving anger as he glared down at her. She flinched at his shouted response and let out a nervous laugh, gulping audibly and trying her best to look nonchalant as she began teasing him again by playing with his collar.

"………Or at least in the Caribbean, I think. Draco, _please…?? _I really _want _them!" She ignored his attempts of further protests and shoved him to sit back onto her vacated seat – only to straddle his lap purposely about a moment later, causing a strangled, high-pitched yelp to escape his lips.

"H—Harry, I _can't _go to Guatemala right _NOW!_ I'd have to get special permission from the Ministry to use the International Floo Network and even _THEN_ I'd have to search all over the damn place for it! Can't you crave for something sold _HERE—Oh, god! Mmm… Don't stop…."_

Draco's voice instantly trailed off into incoherent sounds as Harry began grinding her hips against his and dropping searing kisses along the base of his neck. "Draco, _please…?_ I really…_really_ must have a sugar-apple right now or I'll be restless the entire night…Please…?" She loosened the buttons along the front of her dress and arched backwards slightly to give him a good glimpse of her breasts, smirking to herself when Draco's eyes automatically dropped down to stare at them.

"Ugh… Harry, please don't do this me…I'm exhausted and I have to go through a dozen reports later. I don't have enough _time_ to go searching all over the bloody Caribbean for your— _Mmm… Merlin, don't stop…Oh god…_" His adamant refusal trailed off again as Harry began grinding her hips more insistently against his and her hands began slipping into his shirt to caress his chest.

"Draco, _please…?! _I promise I'll never ask you for anything else ever again…I just _REALLY REALLY _want a sugar-apple right now and the Ministry will never allow me to use the International Floo Network while I'm pregnant." She batted her eyelashes at him and leaned down to nip and suck along the curve of his shoulder, eliciting more groans from the former Slytherin.

"Argh……Harry, I'm _serious!_ You're barking mad if you think I'm going to go all the way to—" Draco's voice ended in an abrupt whimper as Harry had leaned in and licked behind his ear. Hearing his reaction, she smirked again and leaned in closer to whisper something directly into his ear.

"I'll make it up to you in bed, I promise…Just _please…Please_ go out and buy some sugar-apple for me? Please, please, please, please, please…" She timed each enunciation of the word 'please' with a kiss on different parts along his chest until Draco finally groaned in utter defeat.

"_FINE_, I'll get your damn sugar-apple. Damn you, Potter…You're so bloody annoying as a woman!" He grumbled moodily as he gently pushed her off his lap and grudgingly got up with a sour look on his thoroughly flushed face.

Harry hid a smile as she watched him adjusting his pants to hide the somewhat obvious bulge between his legs. The minute he saw her laughing at him as he did this, he sneered at her and mumbled darkly under his breath as he began heading for the door.

"Evil, conniving bitch."

Harry just grinned wider and happily sat back down onto the vacated seat, ignoring the interesting stream of curses that were pouring out of her husband's mouth as he grabbed his coat and began heading for their floo-connected fireplace.

"I love you too, 'Co. Oh and bring me about five boxes of sugar-apples alright?!" She called out after his retreating back, laughing out loud again when Draco didn't bother turning around and simply raised his hand up to flash a very rude finger in the air in response as he exited the room.

Shrugging at this, Harry chuckled softly and reached across the table to help herself to yet another generous helping of mashed potatoes and salad.

* * *

_Ugh…_ _I'm so bloody exhausted… _Draco thought to himself about four hours later as he stepped out of the fireplace and blinked sleepily around the Malfoy Manor living room in search of his pregnant and _very _cunning wife. To his annoyance, the former Gryffindor was nowhere to be found and this did nothing but raise the Malfoy Head's hackles even further as he began striding down the hallways.

_If that miserable little Gryffindork is sleeping, so help me, I will shove these sugar-apples down her throat. I don't care if she's carrying my children; I can't BELIEVE she sent me all the way to bloody GUATEMALA to buy these damn fruits!_ Draco thought irritably to himself as he yawned and made his way through the long maze of corridors in search of his pregnant wife.

After about fifteen more minutes of searching for any sign of her, a thoroughly sleepy and exhausted Draco found her lounging in his office and happily munching on several chocolate frogs as she went over some of her own work-related files and reports. As soon as she saw him entering the room, she broke out into an ecstatic, beautiful smile and practically jumped at him – causing Draco to cringe in exhaustion again as the boxes of sugar-apples he carried nearly tumbled onto the floor.

"Argh! Potter, watch it will you?! I'm too exhausted for you to be jumping all over me! Here are your bloody sugar-apples! Now leave me alone, I have to start working!" He snapped as he handed them over to her and crankily sank down onto the seat behind his desk, yawning and halfheartedly attempting to read through his work reports.

He didn't bother looking up as Harry exclaimed cheerfully and began tearing through one of the boxes. "Thank you _SO MUCH_, 'Co! You're the best!" She chirped but instead of answering her, Draco just flicked his folders shut and let his head drop down onto his table with a loud 'thunk'.

_Ugh…Sleep…Sleep…Sleep…Bed…_ He thought numbly to himself, his eyes drooping tiredly until they finally closed and the pen he held in his hand dropped down limply onto the floor.

Munching contentedly on a sugar-apple, Harry blinked at the sound and whirled around in surprise, scowling when she saw that Draco had, in fact, fallen right asleep. Walking back over to his slumbering form, she poked him lightly on the shoulder and spoke up in a loud, insistent voice.

"Draco…? Draco, wake up!" She scowled darker and began jostling him awake, almost regretting her decision about a moment later when the Malfoy Head jerked awake – accidentally scattering his documents along the floor – and blinked rapidly up at her in confusion. He looked slightly disoriented and ran a hand through his hair, unknowingly messing up the blonde strands.

"Wh—wha? Wh—What's wrong…? What is it, Harry? What do you want now?!" He growled sleepily, glaring and blinking blearily up at her as she hesitated and took another bite of her sugar-apple. "Are you that tired? Do you have to work right away?" She asked meekly, blinking innocently at him when Draco's eyes narrowed in suspicion at her strange question.

"What does it look like, Potter?! Do I look like I'm not bloody tired?! You just sent me all the way to Central America to buy you those damn fruits!" He retorted incredulously, feeling another surge of anger when all Harry did was give him a sheepish shrug and smiled at him in apology.

"I'm sorry, Draco…But…Well…" She shifted uncomfortably and flicked her eyes down to her feet before voicing out the rest of her sentence. "I have another craving—" Draco cut her off instantly before she was able to say anything else and shot up sharply from his seat in outrage.

"Oh _NO! _No bleeding way, Potter! Did you not hear what I said?! I am _EXHAUSTED_ and I'm not about to go traipsing halfway around the world for you again to buy you Merlin-knows-what and if you think for one _MINUTE_ that those womanly charms are going to work on me again, you're—"

Harry cut him off with a fond laugh, shaking her head at his words and giving him a reassuring smile. "No, Draco…That's not what I meant. This is different…I'm craving for something else. Something that shouldn't be so difficult for you to give me…" Her voice trailed off at this and she grinned suggestively at him, her eyes suddenly gleaming in unmistakable mischief.

Draco slowly began to back away when he saw this, his eyes darting nervously to the door in growing apprehension. He knew for a fact that his wife wasn't nearly sorted into Slytherin for nothing and he had no intention of underestimating her for that. Harry, however, simply smiled back innocently at him – obviously hiding something from him behind her back.

"Harry…What have you got there?" He asked carefully, his eyes narrowed as he began to back away even more. He felt a twinge of nervousness when Harry simply stood there and continued to grin at him like a Cheshire cat, her green eyes twinkling with something Draco couldn't quite comprehend.

Walking slowly towards his retreating form, she began whistling and pretended to look interested in glancing around his office. "Oh _nothing…_Just something I picked up from the kitchens awhile ago while you were gone. Say, Draco…You weren't able to eat dessert awhile ago huh?" She asked, still smiling as Draco looked thoroughly and utterly bewildered at her question.

"No…I wasn't. Why do you ask, Harry?" The former Slytherin looked just about ready to run away out the open doors of his office when Harry finally stepped in front of him to block his path. Quirking the corners of her lips into a very sexy smile, she finally began moving her hand forward to reveal what she had been hiding behind her back.

"Oh nothing…Guess what I found in the kitchen!"

Draco's eyes widened comically in horror and he nearly tripped over his own feet when he caught sight of the large bottle of _chocolate syrup_ she held in her hand. He paled even more when Harry's smile transformed into a smirk and she took another step towards his retreating form.

"H—Harry, _wait…_I—I'm _tired! _I just got back! I can't do this right now! I—I—" The last part of Draco's shaky sentence ended up in a terrified squeak as he whirled around and bolted for the door. He didn't get far as his wife _– _who was unfortunately the Ministry's top Unspeakable agent – lazily raised her wand and pointed it directly at his running, cowering form.

Draco stumbled instantly onto the floor in a tangle of his own limbs right before Harry flicked her wand again and had his struggling form bound securely on the floor. Then, whistling nonchalantly to herself, she grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup off the table and cheerfully began walking to their bedroom – keeping her wand pointed at his form as she dragged him along with her.

"H—Harry! I'm _TIRED! _I really am! Y—you can't do this to me right now! I'm _EXHAUSTED!_" Draco stopped when he saw Anton heading their way towards the other end of the corridor and at the sight of his younger cousin, he began struggling more desperately and shouting out to him.

"ANTON! Anton, you've got to help me out here! I'm being taken against my will! I'm—" The rest of Draco's words were silenced when Harry raised her wand again and flicked it over her husband's form, effectively silencing his shouts and muffling the rest of his words.

When Anton blinked and gave them a nonplussed look as they passed him, Harry just smiled at him and gave him a reassuring shrug. "Marital spat…Don't worry about it." She winked at his confused look and continued walking towards their bedroom while dragging Draco along behind her.

At the sight of Draco's wide silver eyes and the way his older cousin was continually mouthing the words '_HELP ME!' _at him, Anton raised a single hand and scratched his head in utter bewilderment.

"I'm never getting married."

* * *

**A/N: **Hahaha! What a very SCRUMPTIOUS craving indeed, Harry. *winks* This chapter was actually GREATLY inspired by an episode of my favorite TV series of all time: **FRIENDS**. (The episode when Rachel was pregnant.) I positively LOVE that series. :D

Also, Some of you have been asking: I will write a trimester per chapter so as not to drag the pregnancy on. Then I will do a time lapse of about 2-3 years after the twins are born and THAT'S when the actual conflict of the story begins. So yes, the story will have parenthood but STILL focus on their marriage. This is 'The Perfect WIFE' after all. :D Also, the story will probably last about 20-25 chapters depending on how the plot goes. :D

**Next Chapter: **Second Trimester Troubles… More of Harry's naughty 'urges'. *smirk*

**PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	7. The Second Trimester

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Can I just say that I LOVE my readers so much? :D You guys are the BEST and I thank you all for the wonderful support you gave me in your reviews! Hugs to everyone! *HUGS* Yay! Since we got a bit of humor in the last chapter, I figured a little bit of fluffy D/H romance would do us some good in this one. ;) Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7 – The Second Trimester**

"So how is your wife's pregnancy coming along, Master Malfoy?"

Draco nearly jumped in shock; blinking up as Richard Wickham entered his office in St. Mungo's that morning. The Head Healer was met with the sight of the young Malfoy Head fidgeting around and twitching nervously in his seat. Upon further inspection of the younger man's disheveled hair and the dark circles under his eyes, Wickham's eyebrow rose further as he sat down onto his seat.

"Are you okay, Master Malfoy? You look a little tired." He mused as Draco twitched again at having been addressed and looked up at him with wide eyes. He laughed nervously for a second, snapping his head back behind him as though to make sure he wasn't being followed before he swallowed and jerkily edged his seat closer to Wickham's table.

"Er—Fine! Haha! F—Fine! I'm doing _great!_ My w—wife's fine… She's—" He stopped and his eyes widened even more as he leaned in eerily close to Wickham over the table. The older man looked nervous at this and leaned back against his seat, watching as Draco gave him a dark, conspiratorial look and held a finger to his lips as though to indicate silence.

"—been really…_demanding_ lately…_REALLY _demanding actually—" Draco laughed nervously again, his voice sounding choked up as he ran a hand through his hair. "—And I have to ask…The hormones…Is there any way to…you know…_REPRESS _them just a little bit?!" The Malfoy Head sounded desperate as he said this but unfortunately, all he got was a firm shaking of Wickham's head.

"I'm afraid that will not be advisable for the condition of your sons, Mr. Malfoy—"

"_ANYTHING AT ALL?! _I'll pay you whatever you want!" Draco snapped, his voice raising several levels as he slammed his fist against the table and gave the older man a maniacal glare.

Wickham gave him a stern glare over his glasses, tutted and shook his head firmly again as though in disapproval. "Mr. Malfoy, your wife is a _VERY _attractive young woman and you are at the _PRIME_ of your youth. I'm sure you can handle her sexual urges for another month or so. Besides, they should subside soon—" His sentence ended in a gasp of fear when Draco promptly jumped up onto the table, seized him by the front of his robes and began jostling him like a child begging for candy.

The Head Healer's eyes widened more in horror when he was met with the sight of the blonde's furious bloodshot eyes and the angry sneer on his lips. "I haven't slept in _THREE DAYS! _Okay?! She wants sex…_ALL THE TIME! _I—it's like there's no satisfying her! She's a bloody insatiable…._WILDCAT! _She keeps me up the entire _NIGHT_ and wakes me up by pouncing on me the next morning_!_" Draco exploded out loud, his voice echoing around the walls of the large office.

Wickham gave him a sheepish cringe and tried to remove the blonde's tight grasp on his robes but Draco didn't seem to be quite finished yet.

"I—I mean I like sex too! I'm a _MAN!_ I _LOVE _sex but _SHE—"_ He let out a choked up laugh and ran a shaking hand through his messed up blonde hair again. "—SHE wants it ALL THE BLOODY TIME! It's like a VICIOUS CYCLE and I'm BLOODY TIRED! Every muscle in my body is _SORE_ and I swear to Merlin, my crotch is so overused that it's beginning to _HURT—"_

Wickham cut him right off at that and shoved him away in growing discomfort, coughing loudly as he tried to clear the disturbing images away. "Master Malfoy, control yourself! Please!" He croaked out in shock, hastily adjusting his robe collar as Draco blinked frantically at him again.

Before Wickham could say anything else, the blonde had seized him by his robes again and gave him a desperate, pleading look. "_Please…_You've got to help me! Help me give her a…_SEDATIVE _or something! Or any type of potion or spell or whatever to make her go to sleep?! O—or m-maybe I can just kn—knock her out myself, could I do that?! Huh?!" He looked imploringly at the older man but Wickham answered him by raising an eyebrow and giving him a pointed glare.

"You did _NOT _just suggest knocking out the woman carrying _YOUR _children, Draco."

Draco relented and he loosened his grip on Wickham's robes, only to bang his head repeatedly on the table. "I—I know, I didn't mean that! I—I would _NEVER_ do something like that but I _NEED REST, WICKHAM!_ And my pregnant, _SEX-CRAZED _wife isn't giving me any!" He protested, grunting as Wickham shoved him off the table and ushered him back onto his chair.

"Have you tried taking in a powerful sleeping draught? That ought to help get you to sleep and that should also signal your wife that you need to rest for awhile." He suggested, leafing through Jaimee's medical folder as he sat back down calmly behind his table.

Draco merely grunted again and dropped his head into his hands, yawning loudly to himself. "I already tried that, Wickham. It only worked once." He grumbled, his voice laced with misery.

Wickham blinked and flicked to the next page to scribble something onto the report. "Oh…? And why is that? What happened? Did you run out of potion or something?

Draco looked up and gave him a helpless, defeated smirk.

"She secretly replaced all the sleeping draughts in the house with _aphrodisiac."_

"……………"

* * *

"Uncle Lucius, how many times must I tell you that I have absolutely _NO _intention of pursuing marriage?!" Anton growled irritably for the fifth time that morning over breakfast in the formal dining room in Malfoy Manor. He glared at Lucius' disapproving glare over the table and ignored the consoling look Narcissa was trying to send them both from where she was seated beside her husband.

"You are a Malfoy_, _Anton…And you'll be turning twenty next month! If you don't start looking for a bride soon, I will _ARRANGE _a marriage for you with someone of _MY _choosing!" Lucius threatened darkly, sneering at the younger blonde as Anton looked as though he wanted to protest.

"Y—you can't do that! Byron isn't married yet too, you know! I—"

"Yes and I intend to have this same conversation with him soon, trust me." Lucius cut him off with another low drawl, sneering when Anton seemed to sputter in indignation. "B—but, D—Draco is just about to provide _TWO _possible heirs for the family soon! Why do _I _still have to get married?!" He croaked out angrily, slamming his fist impatiently onto the table.

Lucius just raised an eyebrow and took a careful sip of his goblet of wine. "Because _EVERY _Malfoy son is required to marry and have a possible heir. You _know_ that, Anton. Come now, you've been with plenty of women before. Surely you can find a suitable match for you—"

"Women like Jaimee aren't exactly easy to come by these days, Uncle Lucius. She wasn't even _naturally_ a woman in the first place." Anton interrupted him sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he began picking at the remaining food on his plate.

The former Malfoy Head chuckled in agreement at this but shook his head firmly. "I have already discussed matters with Louis. We have scheduled you to meet several daughters of our good family friends this week and following that, I have—" Lucius was cut right off when the entrance doors to the dining room slid open, causing all three Malfoys to look up and blink at Draco's shaking, panting form heaving in exhaustion just outside the doorway.

At the sight of their surprised staring at him, the Malfoy Head laughed nervously, drawing both his parents' attention to his haphazardly worn clothing and the unusually haggard state of his hair. Narcissa gaped in surprise as Draco squinted blearily several times and gave a nervous smile.

Forgetting completely about what they had been arguing about, Anton raised a single eyebrow in concealed amusement. "Good morning, my dear cousin…Just woke up, did you? Or do you really just leave your robes unbuttoned like that?" He commented casually, muffling a snigger when Draco flinched in embarrassment at his words and hastily tried to button up his clothes.

Instead of answering him, the older Malfoy son took one quick glance around the room and swallowed the painful lump in his throat. "G—good morning, Mother…Father…Anton… H—Harry's not here, is she?" He stammered out in a high-pitched voice, laughing nervously when both Lucius and Narcissa blinked at him again in confusion before dumbly shaking their heads.

"No, she isn't sweetheart. I think she's in the living room, Shall I call for her—" Narcissa paused in the middle of her sentence when Draco flinched again and shook his head frantically at her.

"_N—No! _Th—that's okay, Mother! P—please keep her away for awhile!" He gasped out, laughing nervously once more. He raised a trembling hand and pushed the stray strands of blonde hair out of his face – allowing Lucius and Anton to see the dark circles under his eyes.

Just as Anton was going to make another sly comment about this, Lucius raised a condescending eyebrow at his son and spoke up in a clear, disapproving tone of voice.

"Draco, as your father and a former Head of this family, I feel obliged to reprimand you right now. Would you look at the state of your robes and hair? You look as though you just rolled out of bed." Lucius drawled sarcastically, eyeing his trembling son in slight disdain.

Draco smiled uneasily at his father's words and stepped into the dining room, closing the door silently behind him. "I—I really did just wake up, Father…U—uhm, Mother, would you mind moving your chair a bit?" He asked, causing Narcissa to look confused at this strange request.

She nodded and shifted her chair backwards a couple of inches before turning back to look at him. "Of course, darling. But I don't understand, why—" She never got to finish her sentence as Draco promptly crouched down, crawled right through the table cloth and settled himself underneath the long, wooden dining table – causing both his parents to choke on their drinks and Anton to burst into barely muffled laughter.

_"DRACO! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME—"_

Lucius was right in the middle of reprimanding Draco again when at that exact moment, the doors to the dining room slid open. Blinking in confusion, all three Malfoys looked up and gaped at the sight of one very irritated Jaimee peering her head into the dining room, her green eyes narrowed as she seemed to scourge the entire area in search of something.

At the sight of three Malfoys staring at her, she smiled at them and inclined her head briefly in greeting. "Good morning. By any chance, have any of you seen Draco anywhere?" She asked casually, walking over to the dining table and grabbing a treacle tart from one of the dessert plates.

Anton grinned deviously, his blue eyes twinkling in mischief. "Actually, Harry… If you're looking for Draco, he's—_OW! BLOODY HELL!" _He cut himself off when he felt Draco kick him from under the table, causing the male half-veela to wince in pain and scowl in irritation.

"ARGH! Bastard!" He growled, kicking his older cousin right back and sneering when he heard Draco's unmistakable curse of pain near his feet. Jaimee raised an eyebrow when she heard this, her eyes narrowing carefully at Anton in growing suspicion.

"What was that?" She asked, walking over to him and inspecting his features carefully. Anton felt Draco kicking him lightly again in warning and in spite of himself, he forced out a reassuring laugh. "N—nothing, Harry! I just…stubbed my toe against something! Ehehe…" He pushed back several strands of blonde hair out of his eyes and ignored Harry's disbelieving glare.

"A—anyway, as I was saying… If you're looking for Draco, he's probably in the East Wing of the Manor. Why don't you go and try checking the libraries?" He suggested hastily, a big, plastered smile on his face when Harry simply raised an eyebrow at him in evident disbelief.

"Hmm…Is that so?" She would have said more but Lucius drew her attention by clearing his throat and giving her a calm, inquisitive glance. "Good morning, Potter…I see you're already showing. How is your pregnancy coming along now? This is your fifth month, am I correct?" He asked carefully, smirking wider when he heard Draco's grateful sigh of relief from underneath the table.

Harry glared uncertainly at him for a minute before looking down and poking at her pregnant belly. "It's _horrible_, actually…I can't believe I have to last _FOUR _more months! At least the morning sickness, frequent bouts of urination and annoying breast swelling and tenderness have all subsided somewhat….Now all I have to worry about is trying not to _WADDLE _while I walk."

The words 'breast swelling and tenderness' brought a flush to both Lucius and Anton's faces, both males shifting awkwardly in their seats.

Narcissa simply chuckled and gave her daughter-in-law a comforting smile. "Well you look wonderful, darling. How are things going with Mr. Wickham? Has he been helping you with that…little problem…we talked about the other day?" She tried to ask this without blushing but unfortunately, she could already feel the blood rushing into her cheeks as soon as the words left her mouth.

Harry shrugged, reaching over the table to grab another treacle tart. "You mean the increased sexual drives? Well he _did_ suggest some…positions…we could try that may be more physically satisfying for me but lately, it doesn't seem to work and they've accomplished nothing but tiring Draco out more than usual." She answered quite bluntly, unwittingly causing Narcissa to flush darker and both Lucius and Anton to spit out their drinks in horrified shock.

Amused at their reactions, she heard a loud, painful 'THUD' somewhere under the table – followed by a loud '_Ooomph! Owwwwww!' _that indicated to her _exactly_ where her elusive husband was hiding. Smirking to herself in realization, she raised an eyebrow knowingly at Anton's sheepish smile.

"So…Draco's in the library…Is he, Anton?" She asked, glaring pointedly at the half-veela as Anton managed another weak smile in apology. At this point, Lucius was already drinking directly from a bottle of wine in dismay while Narcissa was patting her husband comfortingly on the back.

Feeling another Slytherin urge stirring up inside her, Harry walked over to the end of the table and sat down in an exaggeratedly feminine manner beside her flustered father-in-law. Lucius visibly stiffened but didn't say anything as Harry reached over and helped herself to a glass of juice.

She cleared her throat briefly before speaking, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she sensed Draco's growing nervousness underneath the table. "Oh no…Don't get me wrong, Lucius…By what I said, I didn't mean Draco couldn't perform well in the bedroom. That wasn't what I meant at all…In fact, you should be very proud of him. Your son knows _exactly_ how to rattle a headboard in ways that would make even the most experienced courtesan blush—"

Before she had even finished her sentence, Narcissa had already begun choking on her own glass of wine while her husband wasn't much better off and looked as though he had just swallowed a flobberworm. His aristocratic face frozen in dismay, Lucius ignored Anton's attempts at shoving an entire loaf of bread into his mouth to muffle his laughter and gave Harry a shaky smile.

"Uhm…Th—that's…my…_boy?"_

They heard another loud 'THUD' from under the table – followed by Draco's small whimper of pain and horrified embarrassment. Jaimee's smirk widened at this and she chuckled, turning her attention to Narcissa instead now that Lucius seemed unable to blink or do anything else except stare off into empty space with a haunted look in his silver eyes.

"O—of course, not that I meant he's a brute all the time or anything though, Narcissa. Don't worry…Your son can also be very gentle when he wants to be. He has the stamina of an _animal_ though…We'd be at it for hours a night. I have to ask…Does he get it from Lucius?" She asked casually, looking at the older woman and raising her eyebrows at the look of horror on Narcissa's face.

Her mother-in-law's eyes had widened comically, her pale cheeks almost as pink as the lace on her evening dress. "I—I beg your pardon, Jaimee?! Th—that is…I—I uh…L—Lucius, I uh—" She turned to seek help from her husband, cringing in desperation when all Lucius seemed capable of doing was drowning himself in wine to erase the images of his son's 'skills' from his mind.

Stifling another laugh, Jaimee crossed her legs primly and took a long sip from her goblet of juice. She saw Anton hiding another mirthful smile behind his hand but she ignored him, intent on coaxing her husband out from under the table with as much public humiliation as possible.

"And then there's his impressive spontaneity. I have to hand it to your son, Lucius. He comes up with the most _creative_ ideas in bed…Did you know that he has a thing for leather, handcuffs and bunny ears and just a _little _bit of spanking every now and then? Did you also know that we actually did it once on your office de—" The rest of Harry's sentence was cut off sharply when Draco finally sputtered out loud and scrambled out from under the table, stumbling all over himself in his haste and shaking his head in frantic desperation.

"EEYARGH! _ALRIGHT!_ Alright, alright! Damn it! I give up, Potter! You've made your point, you win! _STOP IT ALREADY AND SHUT UP!_" He blurted out, laughing in a high-pitched, shaky tone of voice as he met his parents' stunned and horror-stricken pale faces. Narcissa's fork had slipped from her hand and clanged noisily against her plate while Lucius – in his attempt to take a long swig of wine – missed his mouth and ended up spilling his drink all over the front of his robes.

Both older Malfoys were staring at Draco with wide, unblinking eyes – their mouths stuck in an awkward grimace as hundreds of disturbing images involving their son's private 'sexual preferences' began to plague their minds. Draco shifted nervously under their unwavering gazes and raised a shaking hand in a feeble attempt to fix his disheveled blonde hair.

"Ehehe….Uhm…Mother, Father….I uh—I can explain about that—"

"_Really, _Draco… _Bunny ears? _How utterly unoriginal and _plebeian_…I'm disappointed in you." Anton mocked sarcastically with a blatant smirk, breaking the silence as both Draco and Harry turned to look at his heavily amused features. The half-veela was sniggering under his breath, earning a very dangerous glare from Draco as he narrowed his eyes at him in outrage.

"Oh you think this is _FUNNY, _do you? You half-breed pansy-boy! Why don't I take that plate and stuff it down your insignificant little throat—"

"S—s—spanking, Draco…?" Narcissa croaked out, looking completely scandalized as she blinked out of her stupor long enough to stare at her cringing son. Seeing her staring disbelievingly at him, Draco managed a weak, sheepish smile and raised a single shoulder in a half-shrug.

"M—mother, i—it isn't what you're thinking! I can explain that—" Draco's voice broke off when his mother's eyes finally rolled over to the back of her head. Before either of them could say anything else, Narcissa had collapsed in a dead faint onto the floor. Lucius, however, was still blinking at his son in disbelief as though daring him to deny the allegations while Harry had simply crossed her arms over her chest, a self-satisfied smirk of triumph etched clearly on her features.

"M—my…_OFFICE DESK…_Draco?"

Hearing his father's voice crack, Draco's wide eyes shifted briefly from his wife's smirk to his father's dazed silver eyes before shifting back to Jaimee again. Instead of answering his father's question, the Malfoy Head finally groaned in defeat, buried his face dejectedly into hands and walked resignedly over to where his wife was seated and curling her finger beckoningly at him.

Harry whistled cheerfully and stood up from her seat, reaching over and grabbing another treacle tart from the table before wordlessly holding a hand out to him with a sweet smile.

"Are we done playing hide and seek now, Draco? Or shall I regale your father with more of your rather interesting preferences? I'm sure Lucius would like to hear more of them." She asked pointedly, grinning wider when all her husband could do was nod weakly in exhausted surrender and offered her the necktie hanging loosely from his neck.

"You win, Potter…Lead the way to the bedroom."

She gave him another sweet smile in response just before seizing his tie and dragging him along as she exited the dining room. Anton watched with a grimace as a very tired looking Draco practically stumbled and tripped behind her. The Malfoy Head looked up once and met Anton's sympathetic smirk with a pleading look for help right before Harry finally yanked him out of the room and shut the door behind them with a loud, decisive bang.

They heard Draco's feet scuffling along the carpeted floors of the hallways as he was dragged further along by his necktie towards the opposite wing of the Manor. As soon as the married couple's loud bickering voices faded a couple of seconds later, Anton finally looked up and met Lucius' shocked, unblinking silver eyes with a pointed glare.

"Now _THAT_, Uncle Lucius, is precisely why I do _NOT _want to get married. Women…are just plain _SCARY. _Even unnaturally-made ones."

Lucius could only blink and nod back wordlessly in helpless agreement.

* * *

Wickham cleared his throat and looked over the table, smiling warmly at Jaimee and Draco's expectant faces. Observing the couple further, he noted Jaimee's definite five-month-old baby bump and the way Draco seemed to be resting his hand protectively over her stomach in silent comfort.

"Well now, Mistress Malfoy…It seems your twin sons are growing rather splendidly so far from what I can see here. Both of them are in excellent condition and should be due sometime around October 25-27." He began slowly, causing a rather boyish grin to light up Draco's face.

Pausing to take a sip from his mug of coffee, Wickham flicked over to the next page of Jaimee's health status report. "Also, you seem to have bumped up rather nicely. I suggest a couple of back and foot massages every now and then if you feel any discomfort from carrying the weight of your growing children in the months to follow." He told her comfortingly, aiming a pointed look at Draco as he spoke – to which Draco nodded easily in understanding.

"I'll do what I can to help her feel better—"

"I look like a bloody _whale_ is what you mean, Wickham. Why don't you just say it outright, you coward?!" Jaimee snapped back irritably at the Head Healer, cutting off Draco's response and causing both her husband and Wickham to look at her scowling face in surprise.

"I beg your pardon, Mistress Malfoy?" Wickham asked uncertainly. Jaimee looked up at him again and answered his question with an angry, accusatory glare. She gestured pointedly to her baby bump and impatiently swatted her husband's hand right off.

"_LOOK _at me! I _BLEW UP _like a bloody balloon! I'm beginning to _WADDLE_ so much that the Aurors in the Ministry are beginning to make fun of me!" She snapped again, turning around and aiming much of her anger at Draco's sheepishly laughing face.

"Oh you think that's _FUNNY?! _This is _YOUR _fault, you know! I should have known the minute I saw your bratty, sneering face in Madam Malkin's nine years ago that you'd do this to me!" She hissed at him, her eyes flashing dangerously when Draco answered her with a highly amused smirk.

"I highly doubt that's possible, Potter…How could you have 'known that I'd do this to you' when you were clearly a _MAN _at that time?" He pointed out with a smug smile, immediately flinching again right after when his wife answered him by aiming a painful punch at his shoulder.

"Bastard! How dare you talk back to me when I'm carrying your two sons?!"

"You can't use that excuse every time! That's bloody unfair, Potter!" Draco scowled, ignoring the way Wickham was clearing his throat to get their attention.

Harry narrowed her eyes at him and gave him an angry snarl. "Oh look at that, how hypocritical! Look at the mean, tough, cheating Slytherin complaining about his wife being unfair!" She mocked childishly, rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out at Draco's glaring face.

"Why you stupid, asinine GryffinDORK! How _DARE_ you talk to me like that?! I'm your husband and the father of your children and you will _RESPECT _me! Especially since I'm the only one who can protect you in your fragile state!" He hissed out, his full attention now on Harry's mocking sneer – the both of them completely unaware of the way Wickham was watching them in growing uncertainty.

"Master and Mistress Malfoy—"

"_Tsss! PROTECT_ me?! You mean like the way you _'PROTECTED' _yourself from that big bad _HIPPOGRIFF _in third year when it gave you a scratch on your arm and you _SCREAMED _like a little girl about how you were _DYING?! _Oh I feel _SOOOO _safe now, Malfoy!" Harry drawled sarcastically again, staring haughtily at him through her long lashes.

Draco's face reddened in angry humiliation. "That Hippogriff was a _KILLER _and it would have _KILLED _me had I not jumped back in self-defense! Is it _MY _fault that dangerous creatures just seem to take a bloody liking to YOU?! Forgive me if I'm normal like everyone else and don't go seeking danger like you, oh holy Wonder Boy of Gryffindor!" He growled back, now rising from his seat and glaring down at his wife's equally irate face.

"In case you haven't noticed, _MALFOY…_Do I _LOOK _like a bloody _BOY_ to you now?!" She hissed at him, indicating irritably to her pregnant belly. Before Draco could snap out another response, Harry spoke up again and stood up with her chin held high, meeting her husband's glare easily.

"That's right…I _DON'T! _Because right now…_THANKS TO YOU…_I am bloody _PREGNANT _with _YOUR _twin sons, you pompous, arrogant prick! So don't you _DARE _try and patronize me, you miserable _FERRET_ or I will throw you down a pit of Hippogriffs just to hear you _SCREAM _like a sissy little GIRL!" She screeched at him, baring her teeth and clenching her hands into fists.

Draco's eyes blazed with fury at her words and he stepped up to her so that their faces were mere inches apart. "Oh and _THIS _is all _MY _fault, Potter?! I'm not the only one responsible for this! It takes _TWO _to make a baby, SCAR-HEAD! Or does your pea-sized brain not comprehend that fact?!"

"Why you—"

_"MASTER AND MISTRESS MALFOY!"_

Both Harry and Draco blinked in turned their heads slowly to face Richard Wickham's exasperated grimace. The Head Healer was standing behind his table and was rubbing his temples as he watched them, the expression on his face one torn between amusement and frustration.

When neither Harry nor Draco seemed to be able to say anything to excuse their little outburst, Wickham spoke up for them and gave them both a calm smile. "If I may say so…Would it be alright if the both of you continue this little conversation in a more private setting? That way, we can proceed with Mistress Malfoy's examination?" He suggested pointedly, causing both younger adults to redden in embarrassment when they heard the hidden reprimand in his voice.

Realizing their mistake, both Malfoys mumbled incoherent apologies under their breaths and slowly sat back down onto their seats, pausing every now and then to throw each other disgruntled glares. Harry scowled and folded her hands across her chest while Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Wickham hid a smile at both their childish behaviors and began to speak up again before another argument could start up. "Anyway…As I was saying…Since we're at the fifth month of your pregnancy, I'm going to recommend something to you that I recommend to _all _couples experiencing their first pregnancy." He began, quirking both of their interests as they looked up to meet his gaze.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him while Jaimee watched him with wide, curious eyes. Wickham chuckled and reached across the table, handing them two small pamphlets. As soon they read the words on the front page, both looked up at him with their eyebrows fused in confusion and simultaneously voiced out the question in their heads.

_"…Lamaze classes??"_

* * *

"Neville! Luna! What are you two doing here?!"

_Great…I'm enjoying myself already._ Draco thought sarcastically to himself, sneering as he watched Harry jump up from her seat beside him and race across the large assembly room to greet her two friends who had just appeared in the doorway.

Irritably tearing his eyes away from the annoying sight of Longbottom escorting a seven-month-pregnant Luna Lovegood into the room, Draco let his eyes wander halfheartedly around the area in bored inspection. Following Wickham's suggestion about a week ago, his mother had persuaded both Draco and Jaimee to attend one of the regularly conducted Lamaze classes held in one of St. Mungo's conference rooms – much to both their great reluctance.

Now, sitting smack in the middle of a room filled with happily gushing pregnant women and sickeningly indulgent husbands – at least in Draco's opinion – he found himself scowling heatedly at the front of the room, his arms crossed and his legs stretched out in front of him in languid, exaggerated boredom. He flicked his eyes back lazily to where Harry was still conversing with Neville, watching with a smirk as the two former Gryffindors exchanged friendly laughs and greetings. To Draco's further annoyance, Harry beckoned Neville over to sit beside them and – ignoring Draco's warning glare at her – led them over to where her scowling husband was seated.

_Why did I ever marry a Gryffindor in the first place?_ _I guess I had it coming. _Draco thought to himself in irritation, rolling his eyes as Neville and Luna finally caught sight of him and offered him an uncertain, otherwise friendly smile. "Hey Malfoy…Long time no see." Neville greeted awkwardly as he took the seat on Draco's opposite side, cringing when all Draco did was sneer at him in response.

"Not long enough obviously—_OW!" _He glared at Harry as she sat down beside him, rubbing at the spot on his side where she had nudged him sharply with her elbow. Grumbling to himself, he turned to Neville and Luna's amused smiles and forced himself to nod politely in acknowledgment.

Luna shook her head in amusement at this and gave Harry a smile from where she sat three seats away from her beside Neville. "How far long are you now, Harry? I wasn't expecting to see you at a place like this. Especially with Malfoy over here…" She commented lightly, causing Draco to roll his eyes to himself and Harry to grimace slightly in agreement.

"Five months…Almost six. Yeah…I didn't expect to be here either. Narcissa practically forced us to come here today. She said it would do Draco some good to learn a bit about how to handle the situation when the baby arrives…In all honesty, I think this will be an educational experience for the _both _of us." She admitted grudgingly, earning an easy laugh from her friends.

"If it helps, Harry…This is my first pregnancy too so I'm just as nervous as you are. I'm nearly eight months pregnant now and I'm due end of August." Luna gestured to her much larger pregnant belly, smiling when Neville rewarded her with a kiss on the forehead in comfort.

"You're doing great, love…Just one more month and it'll all be over. I'll be right here at your side if you need anything" He promised her and the way his eyes had sparkled with such open love and sweet affection when he had said this brought a smile to Harry's lips as she watched them.

As though reading her thoughts, Luna looked up and smiled at her in agreement. "Neville's been really supportive throughout my entire pregnancy. It's been nothing but smooth sailing for us so far…What about you guys?" She peered curiously at Draco over Neville's shoulder, directing the conversation to the silently sulking former Slytherin for the first time since they had sat down.

Draco looked up at them and icily raised a single eyebrow. "Fan-_bloody_-tastic. Now what time is that stupid instructor supposed to get here?!" He forgot all about their question and turned his attention to the front of the assembly room, his lips curled into an impatient sneer.

Harry looked up and rolled her eyes at Neville and Luna's confused faces. "Don't worry about it you two…That's actually him being _concerned._ Trust me." She told them with a pointed smirk, earning an easy laugh from the other couple as they finally turned to talk to one another.

Within a couple of minutes, Luna turned to Neville and gave her husband a slightly apologetic glance. "Neville, could you please get me a glass of water? I'm feeling a little parched." She asked softly, smiling in gratitude when Neville stood up instantly and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek.

"Whatever you want, my darling…Wait here, I'll be back in ten minutes." He gave her another kiss on the forehead before he exited the room.

Completely oblivious to this little exchange, Harry had turned to Draco at that exact same moment and gave her scowling husband a beautiful smile. "'Co, do you mind fetching me some pumpkin juice before the instructor gets here?" She asked, her smile disappearing into a threatening snarl when Draco merely scoffed and rolled his eyes at her in annoyance.

"Get it yourself, Potter. I'm not your servant."

"Do you _WANT _me to pop your sons out for you, _MALFOY_?!"

"F—fine! No need to shout. Merlin…" Flinching at her furious glare and the way her green eyes had blazed dangerously in anger, Draco smiled nervously at her, bolted up from his seat and scurried out of the room – oblivious to the way Luna was muffling her amused giggles behind her hand.

* * *

_"Alright everyone! Gather round! Gather round near the front over here! We're going to be starting our Lamaze session soon!" _

It was about ten minutes after Draco and Neville had returned with their respective drinks that the instructor of the Lamaze class finally appeared – a short and pudgy middle-aged female healer by the name of Dorothy Greene – and gestured for them to stand up and walk over to the small, open area at the very front of the room.

Grumbling under his breath and grudgingly pulling himself out of his seat, Draco allowed Harry to lead him by the hand over to one of the large mats positioned in the corner of the area. He sat down onto the mat and pulled her easily onto his lap, smirking to himself when his wife immediately blushed in embarrassment at his ministrations and tried to pull away.

"Draco! Stop—"

"If I'm going to sit through one hour of this absolute rubbish, Harry, I might as well do it with you on my lap. Otherwise, I don't know how I'm going to last that long." He interrupted her pointedly, rolling his eyes at her reaction as he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist to lock her in place.

At the very front, Dorothy Greene stood up and gave them all a very bright smile – her eyes practically glowing with enthusiasm. _"Good morning, my radiant little lovebirds! How is everyone this morning? Did you all get a good night's sleep?"_ She chirped again, causing both Draco and Harry to cringe to themselves in annoyance at the woman's amazingly high-pitched tone of voice.

Leaning in to whisper something into his wife's ear, Draco voiced his growing irritation in a low growl. "So help me, if she uses that annoyingly chirpy voice anywhere within a _FOOT _of me, I will _TURN _her into a 'radiant lovebird'!" He muttered, causing Harry's slim shoulder's to shake in laughter.

Turning her head to the side, she leaned back comfortably against him and answered him with a quirky grin. "You have to admit…This is certainly an experience that I never thought I'd ever share with _YOU _of all people." She murmured with a small smile, eliciting a reluctant chuckle from Draco as he leaned down again and answered her by dropping an affectionate kiss on her nape.

"Touché, Potter…"

_"Now…Personally, I believe that a healthy delivery during pregnancy can only be achieved through a little phrase I like to call SHARING THE EXPERIENCE. Say it with me, everybody! Loud and clear like a mantra!" _Dorothy Greene gestured cheerfully at them and swung her wand around as though conducting a choir. "On three now, everybody! One…Two…Three—"

"_Sharing the experience!"_

"I'd like to _'share the experience'_ of a nasty hex or jinx on her...Annoying, pint-sized chipmunk." Draco muttered darkly under his breath again so that only Harry could hear him, causing his wife to muffle another helpless laugh and elbow him lightly in admonishment.

"Come on, 'Co…I hate this thing as much as you do but we can at least try to learn from it…Especially since we both know _nothing_ about pregnancy. _SHARE _the _EXPERIENCE _with me. " She teased, earning herself another highly disgruntled glare from her husband.

_"Now…Our opening exercise for today deals with exactly that. SHARING THE EXPERIENCE. Say it with me one last time, please! I particularly want to hear the husbands say it out loud for me! On three now…ONE…TWO…THREE—"_

_"SHARING THE EXPERIENCE!" _

Draco flinched irritably at the sound of the other men in the room saying the phrase out loud and clenched his hands into tight fists. "I'm going to march over there and shove a bloody blast-ended skrewt down her throat to shut her up." He growled angrily and this time, Harry rolled her eyes to herself – growing rather tired of her husband's behavior.

_"Very good, everyone! Very good! Now…If you'll all look to your right…Just right beside the mat…You'll see that I've left something very important for the husbands to strap onto themselves." _Dorothy stopped and smiled conspiratorially at them, giggling to herself as she watched the husbands around the room picking up the small bag beside their respective mats.

_"Now I know what you're thinking…What you may find in that bag may be embarrassing at first but I assure you that this is necessary because what we're going to do now is to help all you husbands understand your wife better by feeling as PHYSICALLY VULNERABLE as she feels while carrying your child! As I said…It's all part of SHARING THE EXPERIENCE_ _with each other!" _

Within a couple of minutes after Dorothy had said this, the room was soon filled with gasps of horror and dismay from all the men. Looking over at his own bag beside their mat, Draco soon understood what had driven all the other husbands around them into such a frenzied state of panic.

Empting out the contents of the small bag, Draco found himself gaping in horror at what appeared to be a strap-on pregnant belly stuffed with sand – the sight of which caused Harry's eyes to widen comically for a split second before the former Gryffindor covered her mouth and promptly collapsed onto the mat in a useless pile of hysterical, wheezing laughter.

Draco's left eye twitched at this and he snapped his head to glare poisonously at his hysterically giggling wife, not at all appreciating the fact that she was laughing at his expense. Baring his teeth, he shoved the offending garment away and snarled at her in indignant anger.

"If you think I'm going to put that offensive thing on, Potter, you're CLEARLY mistaken! I am the _HEAD_ of the Malfoy family and I will not submit myself to such ridiculous—"

_"Is there a problem, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?"_ Dorothy's voice suddenly broke his angry tirade, causing both Draco and Harry to look up at the female healer's curious face as she peered down at them. The rest of the pregnant wives around the room were busy helping their husbands strap on their 'pregnant belly', much to Draco's dismay as he stood up and towered angrily over Dorothy's form.

"That's _MASTER and MISTRESS _Malfoy to you, you…_TROLL_! Do you honestly expect _ME _to put on this…this…_VILE, DISGUSTING _thing?! I could have you fired for this, do you know who I am?!" He raged indignantly, causing Harry to groan and bury her face into her hands in embarrassment.

To her surprise, Dorothy merely blinked up at Draco and answered him with a calm, knowing smile. "Ah yes, young _Master_ Malfoy…Your mother _warned _me you might react this way. Unfortunately, I do not take kindly to threats…In fact, why don't you come with me to the front of the room and help me demonstrate to the class how we're to go about this little activity…?" Before Draco could blatantly refuse her request, she raised her wand and pointed it at him, magically strapping on the 'pregnant belly' onto his horrified, twitching form.

_"BLOODY MERLIN'S BEARD! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" _

Once again, Harry had to hold onto her sides as she broke down and cracked up laughing. She watched Dorothy drag her desperately struggling husband to the very front of the room with a simple binding and levitation spell, flicking her wand once over him to summon his wand to her before he could attempt to escape.

As soon as he was positioned into the center of the room – 'strapped-on pregnant belly and all'—Harry hid a smile and stood up from her mat to watch. She looked up and grinned when she saw Neville and Luna several feet away – the both of which were also laughing at the rare sight of Hogwarts' former Prince of Slytherin in such a compromising situation.

Draco, however, didn't seem to appreciate everyone's laughter and struggled furiously with the magical binds around him. "You miserable woman! I'll have you fired for such public displays of mockery! I will send the entire Wizengamot on your arse and then I'll—"

Dorothy ignored him and gestured cheerfully once more to the rest of the couples watching. "_Gather round everyone! Stand up! I shall explain to you how we're going to go about this simple little activity! Mistress Malfoy, if you'll please join me over here please!" _Dorothy gestured over for Harry to join her, smiling warmly as the Malfoy Mistress blinked and walked uncertainly to the front of the room to stand beside the female Healer.

Once she had done this, Dorothy grinned and wrapped an arm around the younger woman's shoulders, turning to face the watching couples surrounding them. _"Now…This little activity is something I believe will help husbands understand their wives a little better. Mistress Malfoy…If you would please take this quill…" _Jaimee shrugged and took the quill from Dorothy's hand, raising an eyebrow in mild curiosity as Draco continued to curse and struggle behind them.

_"HARRY, I'M WARNING YOU! HELP ME TAKE THIS THING OFF RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR—"_

Dorothy gave the watching couples a conspiratorial wink before turning to Jaimee. "_Now Mistress Jaimee…I want you to drop that quill a couple of feet in front of your husband…" _She ordered, watching as Harry raised an eyebrow again before doing exactly what she said – watching as the quill plopped down onto the floor several feet away from Draco's shiny black, designer shoes.

After she had done this, Dorothy grinned and raised her wand again – pointing it at Draco's bound form. "_Alright then…Now, Master Malfoy… I'm going to let you go now. Please refrain from running away and listen to what I have to tell you, is that understood?" _She asked carefully, waiting until Draco snarled at her in utter dislike before she removed the magical binds on him completely.

The irate Malfoy Head flushed bright red in humiliation and he would have yanked off his strapped-on pregnant belly immediately had Dorothy spoke up again and directed his attention to her loud voice. "_Master Malfoy, the activity is simple…All you have to do…Is to pick up that quill exactly as you think your wife would…With that pregnant belly strapped on you and all. Simple and easy, don't you think so? That's all you have to do and you can take that off." _She told him simply, watching with a small smirk as Draco blinked at her in disbelief.

Raising a suspicious eyebrow, he glared back at Jaimee's amused smile over Dorothy's shoulder before flicking his eyes down at the quill on the floor. "That's all? I pick up that stupid quill and you'll leave me the hell alone?" He asked, sneering when Dorothy nodded at him in agreement.

"You have my word, Master Malfoy…Just pick up that quill _exactly _the way your wife would."

Still glaring distrustfully at her, Draco cursed darkly under his breath and was about to bend down with his strapped-on belly to pick up the quill when an idea struck him. He stopped midway – looking up and meeting both Dorothy and Jaimee's watching eyes with a charming, devious smile.

"So let me make sure I understand this activity correctly. You want me to pick up that quill, as if _I _were pregnant, exactly the way my wife would? As in…If I were her?" He drawled slowly, his eyes gleaming mischievously that Jaimee felt her own eyes narrowing in suspicion when she recognized the Slytherin smirk on her husband's handsome face.

Dorothy nodded and smiled cheerfully again, looking up and giving the other watching couples a nod of encouragement. "Yes, Master Malfoy… _Exactly _the way your wife would. That way…All of the men in this room can learn to appreciate the hardships your wives go through." She explained, much to the disgruntled grumbling of most of the other husbands around the room.

When she turned back to look at Draco however, she was surprised to find that instead of bending down as she expected, the Malfoy Head was smirking smugly at his wife's glaring face. To Harry's utter disbelief – and the amusement of many men in the room – Draco arched an eyebrow, lifted a single hand and pointed in an exaggeratingly demure manner to the quill on the floor.

He feigned a ridiculously whiny version of what he meant to be Jaimee's high-pitched, feminine voice and shot her a smile while pretending to flutter his eyelids at her.

"Oh Draaaaaaaco….My breasts are starting to hurt again! Can you pick up that quill for me…_PLEEEEEEEEEEASE?"_

A gasp of insult escaped Harry's lips and she felt her eyes narrowing slowly into very tiny slits, her entire vision swarming with _RED._

"_I DO NOT SOUND LIKE THAT, MALFOY!" _

Deaf to the amused laughter of all the other couples in the room – including Dorothy, Neville and Luna's – Harry clenched her hands angrily into tight fists, bared her teeth and let out a snarl of anger. She launched herself at her husband's form – immediately causing Draco's eyes to widen as he stopped laughing, let out a high-pitched, nervous yelp and ducked as she jumped at him.

"_MALFOY, YOU POMPOUS, ARROGANT, INSENSITIVE, FERRET-FACED BRAT! I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AND FEED YOU TO A HIPPOGRIFF!"_

Draco offered her a nervous smile and ducked once more as Harry tried to punch him again. "I—it was a _JOKE, _love! A _JOKE_! Hahaha…C—come on, everyone else seemed to think it was funny! Don't you—YARGH!" Draco cut off the rest of his sentence as he whirled around and began running as fast as humanely possible towards the exit – the strapped-on pregnant belly still attached to his form and his angry, snarling wife right at his heels.

* * *

"Draco, I'd like to talk to you about something rather important now…" Wickham began as he finally set the folders in his hand down on his desk. He peered at Draco's seated form from across his table, smiling kindly when Draco raised both his eyebrows at him in question.

"I'm not about to take another Lamaze class, Wickham…" He sneered irritably at him, causing the Head Healer to chuckle in amusement but shake his head. "That's not what I meant, Master Malfoy…You see… It concerns your wife and about her pregnancy." He paused and hid a knowing smile when Draco straightened up in his seat and leaned in closer to listen to him.

Clearing his throat, Wickham folded his hands neatly on the table and chose his next words carefully. "Your wife is…How should I say it…She's at that period in her pregnancy right now where she might be feeling exceptionally vulnerable at certain times…Insecure…Unstable…"

Draco looked confused at this but nodded for him to continue, his eyebrows fused together as he pondered the Head Healer's words. "What I mean is…She may feel more _emotionally _fragile than usual in her current state. Especially since she may start feeling the babies' movements inside her any day now…" Draco's eyes grew wide at this but Wickham continued before he could say anything.

"Just…Just be sure to look after her well-being. Not just physically, I mean… But also emotionally…Do you understand what I mean, Draco?" He looked up and was genuinely surprised to see a gentle look of understanding dawning in Draco's normally cold silver eyes.

"I understand."

* * *

"_Ugh…Mmmm… Oh god…OH GOD…"_

A strangled moan of release escaped Draco's half-open lips. He clenched his eyes shut and exploded inside his utterly insatiable wife's body for the third time that night, his entire form shuddering violently in pleasure. He clutched tightly onto her hips, holding her down against his body as he rode out the final waves of his climax.

As he emptied himself inside her, he leaned up and caught her lips in a sweet kiss – smiling weakly when Jaimee easily melted against him and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. Pulling away, she finally collapsed on top of him; exhausted after she had practically ridden him for nearly two hours straight that night in the heat of their passionate activities.

Feeling sweaty and completely drained of all energy, Draco closed his eyes and wrapped his arms lazily around her slender frame – one of his hands going to rest itself protectively – almost instinctively – on her stomach. Keeping his arms wrapped around her, he pushed her gently to the side so that she lay beside him, her cheek nestled comfortably against his chest.

"Mmmm…That was really good, 'Co…Thank you." Harry murmured lazily as she leaned over and rewarded him with a kiss on his cheek, chuckling to herself when all Draco could do to answer her was to give her a half-hearted, exhausted nod and an incoherent grumble in response.

When he couldn't seem to say anything else for a couple more minutes, Harry smirked to herself and grabbed her wand from the nightstand beside their four poster bed – flicking it once over the room to dim the lights and to pull the bed's blankets over their exhausted, naked forms.

Draco mumbled another incoherent 'thank you' at this and turned over to his side, burying his face into his pillow and beginning to fall into a heavy sleep. Harry scowled slightly at this and sidled up closer to him, nudging him gently with her elbow to stir him back into consciousness.

"…..Wha…? Whashwrong, Harry…?"

"Are you going to sleep right away, 'Co…? I just…I wanted to talk to you about something." Harry began uncertainly, biting her lip and watching as her husband shifted lazily under the covers and involuntarily let out a sleepy, exhausted yawn.

Forcing his eyes open, Draco yawned again and tried to stretch himself out – cringing in pain about a second later when he felt the unwelcome soreness brought about by their continuous 'nighttime activities' for the past week seeping into the muscles of his body.

"Merlin's beard… I'm completely sore from the waist down…I can't even feel my crotch." He kidded weakly, squinting sleepily up at the canopy of their bed despite the comforting darkness of their large bedroom in Godric's Hollow. Harry turned over her side to look at him in concern. "Why? What's wrong?" She asked, raising herself up on one elbow and peering over him.

In spite of himself, Draco opened his eyes again and looked up into her beautiful face – managing a sleepy, though slightly affectionate, glare. "Gee… I don't know…Let's see, Potter…Maybe it's because you just _rode _me for nearly two full hours straight?" He drawled teasingly, chuckling to himself when she blushed at his words and buried her face against his chest.

"I'm sorry…I'm not normally so insatiable like this. I think it's all those hormones this pregnancy has been bringing to me. I'm…Really sorry I've been doing nothing but tire you out." She said uncertainly, pulling herself back up and giving him an apologetic grimace.

Draco closed his eyes sleepily again but a teasing smile remained on his face as he reached up and pulled her back down against him so her face was buried against his neck. "Don't worry about that, love…If I could, I'd want to be in you every second of my life but unfortunately, the physical limitations of my human body prevent me from doing so and require that I get _at least _three hours of rest every now and then." He kidded lightly, feeling her shaking slightly with laughter against him.

"…Weakling."

"…Bitch."

Harry chuckled again at their familiar exchange and snuggled herself closer against him, closing her eyes and inhaling his familiar scent. "'Co…I really do want to ask you something though…Do you mind staying awake for just a couple of minutes longer?" She asked meekly and in spite of himself, Draco couldn't prevent a soft, fond laugh from escaping his lips.

Forcing one of his eyes open, he peered at his wife's beautiful face – inwardly admiring the way her long, bed-tossed hair fell into sexy, carefree curls. Sighing, he finally opened his other eye and gave her a sleepy smirk, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know it's moments like these that I wish you were a man again, Potter…Men don't need to talk after sex and yet, you're actually demanding a 'pillow talk' session with me. You really _are _a woman now aren't you?" He teased her gently, reaching over and absentmindedly caressing her cheek.

His words caused her to blink in surprised realization before she laughed and shook her head at herself in amazement. "Merlin's beard, you're right…I never thought about it that way." She thought out loud, blushing lightly as she shifted so that she could rest her cheek on his chest.

He stroked her hair again in response, his other hand instinctively moving to caress her six-month-old baby bump. "Well…? What is it, Harry? Ask me already so I can go to sleep. I'm exhausted and we both still have work tomorrow morning." He murmured sleepily, waiting as his wife seemed to hesitate for several seconds before finally speaking up in a soft, embarrassed voice.

"I have a very serious question for you, okay…? I want you to answer me as _HONESTLY _and _TRUTHFULLY_ as you can…" She began, a slight warning tone in her voice that brought another amused smirk to his lips. "I'm a _SLYTHERIN_, Harry. Those two words you just emphasized don't even belong in my general vocabulary." He kidded in response, wincing a second later when he was answered by his wife's irritated light punch to his arm.

"Quit being a prick, Draco! I'm _SERIOUS—"_

"Fine, fine…I'll stop teasing. What is it, Harry?"

Laughing, he finally relented and opened both his eyes again, shifting his position so that he lay down on his side to face her troubled features. Harry was biting her lip and was absentmindedly tracing circles along his chest, struggling desperately for the next words to say.

Then, to Draco's utter surprise, she looked down at her pregnant belly again, scowling darkly before looking back up at him to give him an accusatory glare.

"…….Do you think I'm…_FAT_?"

"……………"

Draco's eyes widened to comical proportions when he heard this and he blinked rapidly at her as though she had grown an extra head. Harry was looking right back at him with such a tense, anxious expression on her beautiful features that Draco wished he could have prevented the way the corners of his lips began tugging upwards into an involuntary grin.

Swallowing his surprised laughter, he forced his answer out in a steady tone of voice. "Er…I—I'm sorry, Harry….I think I just hallucinated for a second there…Uhm…_What?_" His eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets as he watched his pregnant wife's eyes begin to fill slowly with tears. She scowled again and gestured miserably to her pregnant belly.

"I _ASKED…_Do you think I'm _FAT, _Draco?! Do you still find me as sexually attractive as you did before?" Her voice broke off briefly as a soft sob escaped her lips but she forced herself to continue, grabbing a blanket and throwing it self-consciously over her naked body.

"Look at me! I look like such a bloody _WHALE _now and I _know _that the reason you keep running away from me all the time is probably because you don't want me anymore a—and—"

To her mortification, her startled husband suddenly buried his face into his pillow and burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking in hilarity and his chuckles echoing in the silence of their bedroom.

"Ahahahahaha! Oh Merlin's beard, my sides….The great Wizarding hero, Harry Potter, asking me if she's _FAT…_Hahahaha! That's priceless!" Draco's voice shook with mirth as he tried to control his laughter, turning to his side again to look at the expression on his wife's face.

Unfortunately, Harry didn't appreciate his reaction and gave him a wounded glare, her eyes tearing even more in self-conscious embarrassment. Feeling insulted and completely humiliated, she wrapped the blanket tighter around her naked form and bolted up from the bed – her cheeks burning red in anger as she made to storm out of the room.

Draco realized his mistake immediately. His laughter died out and he stood up hastily to chase after her, smiling affectionately as he stopped her from walking out of the room by wrapping his arms firmly around her waist from behind. When she struggled angrily against him, he leaned down and comforted her by planting reassuring kisses onto her nape.

She continued to remain tense in his arms as he chuckled again and turned her around gently to face him, titling her chin up so she was glaring angrily at his impish grin. "Hey, I'm sorry…I wasn't laughing at _you_, love…" He laughed gently again and reached up to tap her affectionately on her nose. "Y—you just startled me, that's all…I wasn't expecting you to ask me such a ridiculous question like that…I'll stop laughing." He told her, still smiling as she attempted to push him away.

"I'm not _TRYING _to be funny, Draco! I'm serious!" She walked back over to their bed and sat down onto the edge, wrapping her arms around herself in a gesture of self-protection. Draco walked back over to her – obviously unconcerned about his unclothed state – and sat down beside her.

Turning to face him, Harry's cheeks darkened further and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Y—you've always told me before how much you liked my body…Blimey, as a former man, _I'VE _always understood why you liked my body so much. And now that I…I look like this—" She gestured miserably to her baby bump again. "—I—I can't help but feel that I—I'm not as physically attractive to you as I was before and that I—I—"

She was cut off quite abruptly when a smirking Draco had leaned in and caught her trembling lips in a deep, passionate kiss, his hands snaking up behind her and pointedly yanking off the blankets she had wrapped around her form. She protested sharply when he did this and pulled away from him shock. "H—hey! Draco, give me back that blanket!" She tried to reach around him for it but Draco held the sheet out of her reach, smirking smugly and hurling the blanket to the other side of the room.

When she gave up and chose to wrap her arms helplessly around herself again in an effort to cover her nakedness up, Draco sighed dramatically and pulled her against him so that she was sitting on his lap. She blushed heavily at this and tried to pull away fro him but he held her firmly in place, another low, amused chuckle escaping his lips.

"Blimey, Potter…You really _are_ beginning to sound more and more like a real born woman each day. Sometimes I wish you would just shut up." He teased, reaching up and brushing the hair out of her face so that he could look intently into her bright green eyes.

She looked at him in confusion. "Wh—what do you mean? A—are you making fun of me again, Malfoy because I swear if you are, I'll—" Draco shook his head and silenced her by placing a finger to her lips, cutting off the rest of her poorly formed threat. When she looked as though she was going to speak up again, Draco beat her to it and rewarded her with a handsome, lazy smile.

"Let me explain something very important to you, Potter…" He pushed her gently onto her back on the bed, ignoring her embarrassed protests as he leaned down and began to place gentle, adoring kisses onto her stomach. "I have _not_ been running away from you because I don't want you anymore…I don't know _WHAT_ gave you that stupid idea but it's the most moronic thing you have ever said." He drawled bluntly, still ignoring her embarrassment as he trailed his kisses upward from her stomach along her body until he was kissing and biting along her breasts.

"Who are _you _calling a moron, Malfoy—"

He spoke on as though he hadn't heard her. "The _only _reason I have been running away from you these past few weeks is because I was _TIRED_ and I didn't want to make love to you if I couldn't do it with my full strength and physical capacity…" He paused at this and looked up, meeting the confused look on her face. "I want to make sure I satisfy you _every _single time…You deserve nothing less than the best I can give you…You _do _know that, right?" He asked gently, pulling away and reaching up to brush the hair out of her face again.

She nodded wordlessly in response, her throat too dry to speak as she watched him lean down again and begin to lavish even more heated kisses all over her body. "And as to the question of whether or not I think you're fat…Well…Let me put it this way instead, Potter…" He chuckled and trailed his hands adoringly all over her slim feminine curves.

"You…are carrying my children inside this beautiful…gorgeous…luscious body…" He leaned down again and followed the trail his hands had made with his lips instead, eliciting several soft moans from his wife. "Think about it from a guy's perspective – the most exquisitely beautiful and the sexiest woman in the world…carrying _MY _children inside her…Proclaiming to the world that she is the mother of _MY _children…Letting the whole world know that she belongs completely and utterly to me and no one else…" Draco stopped and looked up to meet her warm, beautiful green eyes.

Seeing her smiling reluctantly up at him, he smirked and bent his head down to nip and suck gently at the red love bites already on her neck. "I think _THAT_…More than _anything…_is without a doubt the _sexiest…_the most _erotic_ thing I have ever seen…" He bit suggestively at the skin just below her ear, sending pleasurable shivers running up and down her spine.

He finally pulled back up so that he was looking down directly at her face – silently admiring her achingly lovely features and the unmistakable tenderness in her eyes.

"I can honestly say…with _absolute _certainty…That I have _never _wanted you more, Harry…"

The corners of his lips quirked upwards into a teasing smile when she blushed heatedly at his words, shaking her head at him in helpless disbelief. Reaching her hands up to wrap them around his nape, she pulled him back down so that their foreheads rested against each other.

"God, I should cut out your tongue, Malfoy…_Now _I know why so many girls preferred you over me back in school. You have _such _a skill with words, don't you?" She teased in a soft whisper, laughing when Draco answered her by rolling his eyes and letting out a scoff of derision.

"It's not my fault you were a stuttering, clumsy and ineloquent idiot who didn't know how to talk to women back then, Potter…If I may say so, you're _still_ a stuttering, clumsy and ineloquent idiot _now. _You can't even think of proper creative names to call me anymore other than 'ferret-face' and 'bastard'." He mocked lightly, earning a growl and light punch from her to his arm.

"I can too!"

"Prove it!"

"You stupid…Slimy…_Slytherin._" She finished lamely and in spite of herself, she joined Draco in his laughter. He collapsed back down onto the bed beside her and pulled the blankets over both their bodies. Just as she had snuggled her cheek back against his chest and was about to close her eyes, Draco folded his hands behind his head and spoke up again, his eyes glazed over in deep thought.

"Speaking of name calling…Have you been thinking about possible names for our two sons yet…?" He asked idly, causing Harry to open her eyes in surprise and tilt her head upwards to look at him in question. Draco blinked and looked down at her, raising his eyebrow in query.

"Uhm…_No? _We still have three more months to think about it, 'Co. Do _you _have any ideas?" She asked him curiously and at that, Draco smirked and rolled his eyes at her question.

"Of _course_ I do, Potter! It's actually a custom in my family that the firstborn son take his father's name as his second name, did you know that?" He asked, idly playing with her long hair. Harry scoffed and answered in a laughing voice. "Draco _Lucius _Malfoy…Anton _Louis _Malfoy…Lucius _Lawrence_ Malfoy…I think I pretty much got the gist of it, Draco." She answered sarcastically.

"Touché, Harry _JAMES _Potter."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

Still smirking, Draco raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as he pondered on his next thought. "I actually have several suggestions for you regarding possible first names for them…I'll run them by you right now and you can tell me which of them you like best alright?" He asked and Harry frowned slightly at this, fusing her eyebrows in mild disagreement.

"But what if I don't like _any _of the names? Do I just say 'no'?"

"You can't _not _like the names I chose! They're perfect! _I _chose them!"

"Somehow, I highly doubt that, Malfoy." Came her deadpan, unimpressed response.

"Shut up, Potter. Just listen! I'll run them by you once and you can tell me which one of those you'd like best for our two sons."

"Well I think it's only fair that I get five '_vetoes'_ if I don't like them. That way I can knock off the names I don't like from future consideration."

"No way, Harry."

Harry scowled at him and narrowed her eyes threateningly in warning. "Say no to me again and I'm not popping these children out, so help me Merlin."

"Tssssss. Fine! _THREE _vetoes, Potter…Just _THREE_. Now shut up and listen." Draco grumbled, going over the mental list of names in his head.

"Alexander."

"_VETO!_ _Tsss. _Unoriginal much? Somehow I _KNEW_ that name was going to be on that list."

Draco growled at her and scowled up at the ceiling of their four-poster bed, shifting irritably under the blankets. Harry smirked at him, snuggling herself contentedly against her pillow.

"Oh shut up! How about…Sebastian?"

"_VETO!_ Am I having twin _SONS _or twin _CRABS_, Malfoy?"

Draco's eyebrows rose up in utter confusion at her words and he turned slightly to his side to glare at her. "Twin _crabs_?! What the bloody hell are you talking about, Potter?"

"Uhm…Nothing. Just a Muggle reference. What's next on your list?"

"Uhm…Aha! I got it! It's the perfect name! Orion! _Orion Draco Malfoy!_" Draco smirked at her in triumph, only to scowl moments later when Harry simply cocked an eyebrow at him and answered him with a mocking, derisive sneer.

"Draco, _WHY _do you hate our children? _VETO!_ Look, I know your parents were big on the whole constellation names but I'd rather not name my sons after balls of gas in the sky." She answered sarcastically and at this, Draco finally growled and narrowed his eyes angrily at her.

"Bloody hell, Potter! You're such an annoying, fussy little git! If you're so clever with names, why don't _YOU _think of a good name then?!" He challenged irritably and at this, Harry's face broke out into a grin, her green eyes twinkling mirthfully at him.

"Don't mind if I do…Actually, I already have a good idea for a name for our firstborn son. Wait for it…Wait for it…_Jerkov._" She held back a laugh when Draco's head snapped back and he glared at her as though she was the dumbest, most insignificant person on the planet.

"_JERKOV?! _What in Merlin's – what kind of a ridiculous peasant name is _THAT_, Potter?! Are you _PURPOSELY_ trying to get my son bullied in school?" He raged, failing to notice the way Harry's shoulders were shaking with laughter and the way she was hiding her smile behind her hand.

"I think it's the _PERFECT _name, Draco .Just listen to this…_JERKOV DRACO MALFOY._ Doesn't that just sound dashing?" A snort of laughter escaped her lips again as Draco's eyebrows fused together in utter confusion. "That's not dashing! What are you talking about?! Are you insane—"

"No, no…Just listen to it again! JERKOV DRACO MALFOY…As in…_JERK—OFF DRACO MALFOY…_" Draco's face suddenly dawned in belated realization at her intended pun. Just as he sneered angrily and was about to whip out an angry, sarcastic retort, Harry buried her face into her pillow, tossed the blanket over herself and collapsed into another fit of hysterical laughter.

He glared at her for several moments, his eye twitching in irritation but after awhile, his own amusement gave in and he allowed a small smile – his own shoulders beginning to shake in barely muffled laughter. "Harry, you git! That was such a lame joke." He raised a hand and slapped her affectionately on her arse, causing her to squeal in indignation but otherwise laugh harder.

"Oh yeah…? Then why are you laughing, Malfoy?" She asked him pointedly and at this, Draco couldn't help grinning again and whacking her laughing form over the head with his pillow. When their hilarity had subsided, she snuggled against him again and they fell into another comfortable silence – listening contentedly to the other's soft, rhythmic breathing.

Just as Draco yawned and his eyelids began to close heavily in exhaustion, he heard Harry gasp and felt her jerk sharply in his arms. In panic, his eyes snapped open and he immediately sat up, peering worriedly at her. Harry's eyes had grown wide and her hands clutched her stomach in shock.

"What is it? What's wrong? What hurts?" Draco rushed out, his eyes roaming anxiously over her pale features. Instead of answering him, Harry sat up slowly and raised a finger in an indication of silence, the shocked expression on her face slowly transforming into one of stunned elation.

"M—Merlin's beard…" She gasped out loud again, a surprised, ecstatic laugh escaping her lips as she flicked her eyes up at him and gave him a wide, beautiful smile. Draco arched a single eyebrow and stared at her, blinking at her in confusion.

"What—"

"Th—they kicked! I—I felt them kick! H—Haha! Oh gods, I—I'm a _mother!_" She laughed weakly and grabbed her husband's hand, placing it over her bare stomach and indicating for him to remain still. The frown on Draco's face quickly became an endearingly boyish grin and he placed his other hand on her stomach as well – his worry and sleepiness completely forgotten.

He had to wait a couple more minutes of silence before he actually understood what she meant and the minute he did – feeling the definite kick of either one of his two sons from his wife's pregnant belly – Draco felt his an unexplainable urge of giddy happiness welling up in his chest.

Flicking his eyes up to look at Jaimee's smiling face, Draco felt himself smiling back widely at her like a lovesick idiot – his left dimple in clear view as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers in a loving kiss. Pulling back, he leaned down and placed two kisses onto her stomach – laughing when he felt his ministrations immediately reciprocated by two powerful kicks from his sons.

Meeting his wife's bright green eyes once more, he felt an overwhelming ache of tenderness in his chest. He raised a hand and gently traced the lightning bolt-shaped scar on her forehead, trailing his fingers all the way down until he was cupping her soft cheek.

"I love you so much…"

She smiled and leaned into his touch, reaching her own hand up and placing it over the one he had on her cheek. "I love you too…" She whispered back, guiding his fingers over to her lips and giving each one a reverent kiss. When she leaned back against him and they both lay back down onto the bed, Draco slid his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against him with a small smile.

"Hmm…Suddenly I'm feeling a little frisky, Potter…I think I'm just about up for tonight's round four…" He suddenly drawled in a low, suggestive whisper a couple of minutes later, earning a surprised laugh from his wife as she glanced at the clock on the table beside their bed.

"Draco, it's _TWO _in the morning and we have to get up soon. Are you _serious_?"

He gave her a wolfish, feral smirk and answered her question by chuckling and pointedly yanking the covers back up over their heads.

* * *

**A/N: **Ah, marital bliss… *sigh* Don't you all wish we're all lucky enough to find it? :D Just a short disclaimer…As much as I'd like to take credit for the Lamaze class scene…Unfortunately, that wasn't original. That was actually based on a very popular Lamaze joke, I'm not sure if some of you already heard it. In any case, I thought it'd be interesting to incorporate into the story. ;) Hope you all enjoyed the fluffy scene here because we're back to insane hilarity in the next chapter! *evil cackle*

To those concerned, I will probably show more of Byron and Anton's love lives just before I go into the time lapse. Sometime before and after Jaimee gives birth in Chapter 9. ;)

**Next Chapter**: The FINAL trimester, shopping for baby stuff in Diagon Alley, and Harry's magical fluctuations begin. (Weeee! Fun fun fun!)

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :D**


	8. The Third Trimester

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: To those interested, I will start writing a dark DM/femHP (turned girl, not born. :D) story soon. It's very angsty and starts after Deathly Hallows so if you're interested, keep a lookout! :D Otherwise, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 8 – The Third Trimester**

"…Trayton?"

"_VETO. _What kind of a stupid name is _THAT_, Potter?!"

"Tsssch…Fine. How about Nicholas?"

"You want to name _MY _son after that bastard hitting on you in the office? I'm going to have to talk to him, by the way. I'd like to introduce him to Crabbe and Goyle. Or maybe even my fist. _VETO."_

"He's an _Unspeakable Agent._ Crabbe or Goyle won't be able to lay a finger on him."

"Well _I _can, Potter! Maybe I'll introduce him to a friend of mine called the _Cruciatus Curse._"

"Ugh. You're an impossibly jealous prick, you know that? Alright, how about…Leonard?"

"Oh perfect…I can already hear the perpetual sounds of his glasses breaking every time the kids pick on him in the classroom for being such a loser —Wha?! _HEY! _What are you doing, Potter?! Put that stupid red robe down, I will _NOT _have _MY_ son wear Gryffindor colors!"

Turning around to look at her husband lounging lazily against the wall behind her, Harry raised a single eyebrow and held the small red baby robes in her hand higher up into the air. "You mean this?" She smirked at him and watched the irritation flash clearly in Draco's mercury eyes.

"Yes, that! That's hideous! Put that way, I am _NOT _paying for that!" He growled again, straightening up from where he leaned against the wall and walking over to snatch the robes from her. Harry protested sharply but Draco had already set it down and grabbed her by her hand, leading her over to a small rack with small green and blue baby robes near the corner of the shop.

Just outside, the busy and crowded shopping streets of Diagon Alley could clearly be seen. Every now and then, heads would turn and several pairs of eyes would peer into the baby clothing store in interest at the sight of the famous couple shopping inside. This was followed by the excited whispering of many middle-aged witches who would all point at the Malfoy Head and his Hero-turned-Heroine Mistress. Some would even have the occasional nerve to walk right into the shop and ask directly for their picture or autograph.

Somehow accustomed to all the attention they constantly received at this point, Harry turned to give Draco a glare just as he began pulling several dark green baby robes off the racks. "They are _my _sons too, Malfoy! I won't have you turn them into your Slytherin, perfectionist _clones_. Unlike me, I want them to have a normal life apart from all this stupid attention we've been receiving lately." She told him but Draco was only half-listening to her, signing the sales invoices and purchase receipts held up by the young teenage shop assistant behind him.

When he finished with this, he looked up and rewarded his wife with a handsome grin. "Harry, whatever happens….These children are the sons of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter_._ They were doomed to attract media attention from the moment they were conceived. They weren't even _supposed _to be conceived at all had you not turned into a woman, remember?" He told her carefully, walking over to another corner of the store to peer at some green-patterned blankets, bottles and baby towels.

Harry grumbled in response and sank down tiredly onto the couch near the center of the store, rubbing a hand over her swollen, 7-month pregnant belly. "Why couldn't _you _have turned into a bloody woman, Malfoy? _You're _the one who seems to enjoy all this boring shopping rubbish." She complained and at this, Draco turned around and gave her a warning glare.

"Shopping with me is _not _boring—"

She continued talking anyway. "Ugh…I can't wait to get these babies out of me! My back hurts like hell from all the added weight! I haven't seen my feet in ages! Plus, I miss work and being able to wear _pants_. I can't _believe_ Ashford let me off from the office already, I'm just seven months pregnant!" She complained loudly, scowling at her husband from across the shop as he began rifling through a selection of expensive looking baby shoes and mittens.

"You've been on leave for less than _two weeks_, Harry. You're turning out to be much more of a workaholic than _I _am. Ashford was right to have let you off two months early; you weren't doing _anything _in the office other than snapping irritably at everyone and making all the male unspeakable panic. Stop whining." Draco answered in a bored tone of voice, turning around to sign more sales invoices from all the purchases he had made so far. When he looked back at her, he was surprised to find her glaring indignantly at him with narrowed eyes.

She scowled at him, her eyes dark with contempt. "_Stop whining? _You talk about this experience like it's so easy for you. Do you have any _idea _how unnatural this all feels for me right now?" She asked him angrily and at her words, Draco finally sighed and walked over to where she sat.

"Harry—"

"I'm sore all over. My feet and hands are swollen. I haven't gotten a decent sleep in _weeks _because my back _hurts_ all the time and I _still _don't know how I'm going to give birth to your sons, Malfoy. Work was the _only thing _left reminding me that I haven't been reduced to a hapless, pregnant wife of pureblood family Head just yet. Now that it's gone, what's left of my male ego is taking a serious beating!" She muttered darkly at him, her eyes dropping down to glare at her hands.

Sensing her anger, Draco indicated to the shop clerk to leave them alone for awhile. Once she had left, he sat down next to Harry and leaned over to nuzzle her cheek affectionately in silent apology. Since he wasn't exactly sure of the right possible response he could give to such a statement, he settled for a different approach instead.

"Thank you for doing this with me."

Her anger forgotten, Harry looked up at his words. She blinked at him and watched as Draco rested his hand gently on her stomach and looked up to give her a small smile. "For what?" She asked softly, watching the former Slytherin as he struggled for the right words to say.

He paused to gather his thoughts. "…For…having my children…You didn't have to get pregnant you know, since it was _my _fault you became a woman but you still chose to give me children. Thank you. It really means a lot to me." He stopped and looked up at her, an awkward expression in his gray eyes that indicated to her that he obviously wasn't used to thanking people in his life for _anything_.

Smiling in spite of herself, Harry shook her head at his words and placed her hand over the one he had on her stomach. "'Co, that wasn't what I meant to say at all, I—" She laughed slightly and shook her head at herself. "I want this as much as you do. I just…Can we lie low on all this pregnancy stuff for awhile? I mean – the shopping, the baby stuff, the Healer appointments? I just… I need some time to reorient myself again so that my male ego doesn't suffer too much from all this." She kidded, finally earning an amused chuckle from her husband when he nodded in understanding.

"I understand, Potter. You need to find your 'manhood' again." He teased with a smirk, earning a punch from his wife as she gave him a weak glare at his words. Laughing, he feigned a sigh and stood back up. "So I take it you want to continue baby shopping some other time then?" He drawled, walking back over to the front desk to retrieve all the items that he had purchased.

Once he had cast a proper shrinking charm on all of them and placed them into the pocket of his robes, Draco turned around and helped Harry back up to her feet. As soon as she was balanced and upright again, she gave him a sheepish smile and a halfhearted shrug.

"Actually…I'm a little hungry. I just saw that Italian restaurant down the corner, do you mind if we eat lunch a little earlier? I think I'm craving for some good Italian pizza…" Her voice trailed off in slight embarrassment and this time, Draco really did laugh and offered her his arm.

"Don't you think of anything else except for food, Potter?" He drawled, rolling his eyes as he signaled their leave to the store clerk before finally leading her out the shop towards the main streets of Diagon Alley. Once again, a couple of curious heads turned in their direction but neither of them paid any attention to it and began walking briskly to the nearby street corner.

As they passed the entrance to a narrow street around the side of the main road, Draco stopped and raised his eyebrows imploringly at her. "Do you mind if we drop by Borgin and Burkes for a short bit? I'd like to see if Mr. Borgin has some new interesting artifacts for me." He commented lightly and at this, Harry couldn't help scowling and rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Honestly, Draco. I don't understand why you or Lucius are so fascinated with that store. Those old antiques are dirty, creepy and cause nothing but trouble – I remember how much you wanted that stupid Hand of Glory back in second year—" She cut herself off immediately at this, her eyes going wide when she realized that she was not supposed to have known that little fact.

Just as she had expected, Draco's eyebrows rose up in shock at her words. As they turned into the narrow street, he gave her a suspicious frown and clasped her hand tighter as he led her through the small crowd of creepy looking witches and wizards lounging about in Knockturn Alley.

"My father and I are fascinated with them because they're beautiful priceless antiques and they're reasonable _investments._ Besides, how did _YOU _know I wanted that Hand of Glory back in second year?" He asked suspiciously, turning to glare at her as they finally reached the shop entrance.

Harry laughed sheepishly and tried to change the subject by pretending to observe the crowd of suspicious looking wizards and witches walking along the streets. "Lucky guess? You know Knockturn Alley _really _creeps me out, Draco, so if we could just hurry this up and go back—"

Draco's eyes narrowed further and he turned around to face her from where they stopped in front of Borgin and Burkes' shop doors. "_Lucky guess?!" _He mocked sarcastically, causing his wife to flinch. "You were spying on me, weren't you? Tell me something, Harry. Is there anything _else _I should know about something you know about me that you _shouldn't _know?" He asked her, earning a laugh from Harry again when she pretended to look confused at his words.

"Haha… That's funny. A play on words….Know that I know that I shouldn't—"

"Harry…" Draco warned in a threatening tone of voice. When he scowled at her, she finally sighed, shrugged and offered him a helpless smile. "Well….There is _one _other thing. You know that time in second year when Crabbe and Goyle acted kind of weird and started asking you all those questions about who was the Heir of Slytherin in the Slytherin Common Room?"

Draco's eyebrow rose in anticipating suspicion. "Yeah… I think I remember…"

Harry's managed a sheepish grin and pretended to stare at the passing shoppers. "Well…I er… Ehehe. That wasn't actually Crabbe and Goyle, that was me and Ron in disguise with Polyjuice potion." She looked up and tried pathetically to flutter her eyelashes at him but Draco simply glared at her.

"…Okay…Uhm…_WHY _exactly…?"

"We thought you were the Heir of Slytherin. It didn't help that I saw you skulking around in here before the year started buying all these dark artifacts…" She sniggered in spite of herself and offered him an apologetic smile. "Don't worry… No harm done. It's all in the past now. Right, love…?"

"………."

"….Draco?"

"………."

After a moment of silence, he sighed exasperatedly and dragged her into the shop. "We seriously have to talk more about open communication and _honesty_ in this marriage, Potter." He grumbled under his breath, eliciting an easy laugh from his wife as she followed him through the doors.

"What? It's not like I knew I'd ever get married to you _then!_"

Once inside, Draco ignored her last comment and helped her sit down onto the waiting couch near the entrance. "Wait here; I'll only be five minutes. I just need to talk to Mr. Borgin." He leaned over and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. Walking ahead to the front counter, he left a scowling Harry fidgeting and staring uncomfortably around her rather creepy surroundings in dismay.

"Draco, _hurry up._ This place gives me the creeps…"

She watched impatiently as Draco conversed with Mr. Borgin for several minutes, scowling and fidgeting more and more in growing agitation when her husband seemed to lose track of time and peered in childlike, avid interest at the offered Wizarding artifacts Mr. Borgin was showing him.

After more several minutes, she felt a familiar foreboding feeling brought about by the prickling at the back of her neck. She was just about ready to stand up and yank Draco out of the shop when a brief flash of moment out of the corner of her eye startled her out of her reverie.

"…You look like you're about to jump out of your skin, Miss…"

Harry _did _jump and gasped in shock. She turned around to face the small, amused smirk of a handsome blue-robed wizard who had just walked in through the shop doors. When all she could do was blink up at him without any intelligent response, the man offered her a warm, reassuring smile.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you…Miss…?" He sat down on the couch beside her and immediately, Harry's shoulders stiffened and she scooted away. "Malfoy. _Mistress _Malfoy. No worries, sir…I'm just waiting for my _husband_ over there to finish up." She put particular emphasis on the word 'husband', her trained impulses directing her hand to ghost over the wand in her pocket in suspicion.

The man seemed to understand her hostility at once and nodded politely in understanding. "My apologies, Mistress Malfoy. I realize a random stranger talking to a pregnant, married woman in a shop like Borgin and Burkes may seem creepy at first but I assure you I'm perfectly normal and completely harmless." He raised his hands up – indicating that he didn't have a wand – and chuckled.

"I was just trying to make friendly conversation while I wait for my turn to talk to Mr. Borgin over there. I'm an acquaintance of your husband, actually…Not that we're close or anything but we do hang around the same pureblooded circles of families." He indicated to Draco by the shop counter and hearing his explanation, Harry's shoulders seemed to relax a little in surprise.

"…Really? Well then, I apologize for my hostility… Mister…." She looked expectantly at him.

He grinned, inclining his head briefly and offering her a smile. "Thornton. Maximillian Thornton. My friends call me 'Max' for short though. It's a pleasure, Mistress Malfoy…And may I say you are definitely as beautiful as you're rumored to be. Perhaps even more." He kidded in a light teasing voice, finally earning a friendly laugh from Harry as she grinned at his words.

Inspecting his features carefully, she idly noted his dark blonde hair and the strange speckles of dark red in his otherwise easygoing brown eyes. When she noticed him staring back expectantly at her, she blushed in embarrassment and offered him her own hand in greeting.

"My name is Jaimee, Mr. Thornton but my friends still call me Harry. I'm sure you and the rest of the Wizarding world know the sordid history behind that little detail." She quipped mildly, causing him to laugh and place an obligatory kiss onto the back of her palm.

"I'm sorry if I seemed a little uptight awhile ago. I'm not really comfortable hanging around in a place like this—"

She was cut off when Max held up a hand to stop her and gave her a reassuring smirk. "Don't worry about it, Jaimee. It was _my _fault for walking up to a trembling pregnant woman so casually like that. I really _did _seem a bit suspicious at the time. I'm actually just here to pick up something I ordered from Mr. Borgin a week ago and I thought—"

"Thornton."

Jaimee flinched immediately when she recognized her husband's cold, taunting voice. Sure enough, she slowly looked back up and wasn't surprised to see that Draco was now standing over them – his narrowed eyes darkened into steely silver and glaring warningly at Max' form.

Max looked up uncertainly at the blonde's hostile expression and offered him a confused, casual smile. "Hello Malfoy…Long time, no see. I was just chatting up your lovely wife while we were waiting for you to finish with Mr. Borgin over there—"

"How _dare _you talk to _ME_ or _MY _wife you filthy, insignificant _SQUIB?!_" Draco sneered mockingly at him and yanked Harry up from the seat by her arm. She would have protested but Draco had already pushed her back behind him, covering her from the other man with his body.

At the word 'squib', the smile on Max' face had instantly disappeared and was replaced by an equally menacing, angry snarl. "Don't you _dare_ call me by that foul name, Malfoy! I'm a _Pureblood _wizard just like _you _are and you'd do well to treat me with respect before I—"

Draco laughed harshly, his silver eyes glinting like knives. "Pureblood?" He sneered again; ignoring the way Harry was trying to yank him back by his arm. "You call yourself a _Pureblood Wizard, _Thornton? Alright then, _cast a spell on me! _Come now, I'll let you have a free shot! You _CAN _do magic right? Since you're a _Pureblood?!_ Let's see your wand!" He taunted, smirking wider when Max' face seemed to darken and he began to shake with utmost fury.

"Malfoy, you arrogant, two-faced _bastard! _I ought to—"

"Draco, we were just talking. Stop it—"

Draco ignored Harry's attempt to stop him again and finally jerked his own wand out of his robes, pointing it directly at Max' growling face. "Whoops…" He smirked smugly, watching as the other man's face twisted into a menacing sneer of dislike. "Time's up, Thornton. If you're _really _a Pureblood like me and _NOT _a stupid, useless Squib, then you'll be able to block the simple hex I'm about to shoot at your face now for coming near _MY _wife—"

"Draco, I said _STOP IT! _Get back!" Harry finally growled out as she yanked his wand angrily out of his grasp and placed herself right in between the two men. Draco blinked himself out of his rage long enough to glare at his wife, his eyes flashing when she glared right back at him in warning with a look of frustrated exasperation clearly written in her features.

Not wanting to anger her or do anything to upset her in her current pregnant state, Draco relented and fell silent, clenching his jaw in unkempt anger. "You're just lucky my pregnant wife is here, Thornton. Otherwise, you'll be getting a taste of just what _exactly _a pureblood wizard is capable of." He warned darkly, failing to see the chilling glint in Max' eyes.

"Oh I know _exactly _what a pureblood is capable of, Malfoy…" He drawled back in a low tone of voice, one corner of his lips lifting into a strange smile as he watched Harry struggling to keep her irate husband from tackling him. She looked up and gave the other man one last strained smile.

"I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding, Mr. Thornton… Please excuse us. Thank you very much for the company." She told him with an embarrassed and apologetic grimace. She didn't bother waiting for his response as she turned back around and grabbed Draco by the arm again to drag him out of the store before any serious fight could break out between the two men.

"Master Malfoy! Your purchases!" Mr. Borgin had called out from behind the counter, rushing over to hand the Malfoy Head a small, miniaturized box of artifacts. As Draco shoved it irritably into his pocket and turned to sneer at Max one last time, Harry was surprised to see the other man sneering right back at him – a strange gleam in his eye that she couldn't quite comprehend.

When Draco looked as though he was about to make another malicious comment, Harry grabbed his arm again and began to drag him out of the store as fast as she could. Just before they exited the shop, she turned back one last time to give Max another apologetic glance but the man was already facing Mr. Borgin and was taking what looked like a golden chalice out of the storeowner's offered hands.

She was broken out of her thoughts when they reached the outside of the store and sighing, she found herself at the mercy of her husband's furious, accusatory glare. "I talk to Mr. Borgin for _FIVE MINUTES_ and the second I turn around, you're _ALREADY _flirting with some other man?!" He raged, his eyes blazing as he yanked her down Knockturn alley back towards the main path.

Harry rolled her eyes to herself and pulled her hand out of his grasp. "Oh _please, _Draco. Here I am…_INFLATED _like a balloon with _YOUR _two children growing inside me and you _STILL _think that I would flirt with other men? Give me a break, there isn't even a man in his right _MIND _who would hit on a pregnant woman." She pointed out irritably just as they reached the main streets of Diagon Alley.

Draco stopped when Harry held up a hand and gave him a frustrated glare. "You know, you were a real _jerk _back there. Thornton seemed like a genuinely nice guy and you just _flat out _insulted his magical capacity like that for _NO REASON _other than the fact that he was talking to me. You have issues, Draco." She muttered angrily, causing his eyes to harden even more.

"I don't like him, Harry. I _never _did, even then. There's just something about him that isn't right…And it isn't just because he's an ugly, pathetic little Squib who tried to tail around the rest of us pureblooded sons when we were kids. I didn't like the way he looked at you either—"

"Draco, you can't just judge other people like that! So the man is a Squib, why do you have to shove it in his face?! Why do you think _WE _never hit it off as friends the first time we met?! Because you're such a biased, arrogant git!" Harry snapped back, ignoring the stares they were receiving from the passing people along the streets who overheard their argument.

Draco's jaw clenched and his hands tightened into fists. "I _just _don't like him, Harry…Okay? He always makes me feel very uneasy. There's something about him that I just can't place. Just…_trust me_ on this one for once. Stay away from him…okay?" Draco's voice softened towards the end of the last sentence. He grabbed her hand and gave her fingers an imploring squeeze.

Harry raised an eyebrow and answered in a sarcastic tone. "Since when were _you _a better judge of character than _I _was, Draco? I think you're being horribly shallow—"

"_Please, _Harry."

There was an unmistakable hint of fear and uncertainty laced into his voice that Harry didn't have the heart to refuse him. Sighing, she squeezed his fingers back through their intertwined hands and nodded, reaching her free hand up to stroke his tightly clenched jaw.

"Don't make a habit of this, okay? I'm not going to stay away from people you don't like just because of biased, unfair reasons that I don't even understand." She reminded him firmly and at this, Draco nodded in relief and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss of gratitude on her forehead.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Master Malfoy, your wife is at the seventh month of her pregnancy. Her magical fluctuations are liable to start any day now and should continue until just before the end of her ninth month." Wickham took off his glasses and peered at Draco with an apprehensive look in his eyes.

The Malfoy Head, however, merely scoffed and waved his hand lazily at the Head Healer's concern. "Don't worry about that, Wickham. I was raised in a traditional pureblood family, I know all _about _magical fluctuations during pregnancy and trust me, _this _is something I can handle." He drawled arrogantly, giving the Head Healer a superior smirk.

Wickham wasn't impressed at this and merely raised a single eyebrow at the younger man's self-assurance. "I should warn you, Master Malfoy….With a familial legacy like yours and the one your wife has, I can't quite ascertain the strength of the magical fluctuations she'll be having." He warned but again, Draco scoffed and waved the matter away.

"I just survived _five months _of my wife jumping my pants every fifteen minutes. Trust me, Wickham…I can handle her magical fluctuations."

Wickham just smiled back at him with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

* * *

**7 Months and 3 Weeks**

_Profits up by 25% but expenses up by 30%... I thought I told them to cut down on manufacturing._ Draco thought irritably as adjusted his reading frames and scanned thoroughly through the financial documents laid out on his desk that morning in Malfoy Manor.

Grumbling under his breath about how he was going to fire that newly appointed manager, he dipped his quill briefly into his bottle of ink before noting down the necessary information onto his reports. Seated a couple of feet away from him on one of the lush couches near the side of his office, Harry raised an eyebrow and yawned to herself in growing boredom.

She watched him for several minutes before eventually sighing in boredom again and leaning back against the couch to close her eyes. Draco ignored this and continued to read through his work reports, pausing every now and then to dip his quill into his ink bottle or to glance up and make sure his wife was comfortable where she had fallen into a light slumber in her seat.

Within the next half hour, nothing else was heard within the confines of his private office except for the occasional sounds of the tip of his quill scuffling along the surface of his parchments. Every so often, he would look up and stare briefly at the adorable sight of his beautiful wife sleeping peacefully on the couch – the sight of which never failed to make him smile each time.

Just as he turned back to what he had written on his progress reports, he dipped the tip of his quill into his ink bottle again – only to pause in shock a second later when he realized that he hadn't actually dipped his quill into anything and he was merely scraping its tip uselessly on the parchment.

"What in Merlin's name—" Draco arched an eyebrow and made to dip it into the bottle of ink once more but just as he began writing – he stopped again when he realized that the tip of his quill was completely dry and had no remaining traces of ink on it.

Highly irritated, Draco finally flicked his eyes up from his parchment to the ink bottle supposedly beside him – only to have those silver orbs widen incredulously in confusion when he saw that the ink bottle he had so surely placed right onto his table had, in fact, _disappeared. _

_What the—Where did I—_ Draco felt his eye twitch as he reached into his office drawer and took out another bottle of ink, placing it carefully beside his parchments. After dipping his quill into it, he shook his head and began writing again, his eyebrows fusing together in deep concentration.

After about another fifteen minutes of silence doing this, he paused and dipped his quill into his ink bottle again. The minute he began writing, however, his quill was once again completely _dry _and _inkless._ Draco didn't bother holding back the angry curse word that escaped his lips as he tore his eyes away from his reports and looked back at the ink bottle – blinking in utter confusion when he realized that it had _disappeared – AGAIN._

More confused than annoyed at this point, Draco looked up and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Harry across the office but his wife was completely fast asleep – her breathing even and her form snuggled contentedly onto one of the couch's throw pillows.

_I don't get it…_ Draco thought incredulously to himself, scratching his head as he stood up from his chair and roamed his eyes around the room. _I was SURE I placed that ink bottle on my desk…Otherwise I couldn't have been able to write anything._ He thought to himself, shaking his head as he placed his glasses back on the table and began to walk out the door.

_I need a drink. I think I'm just stressed out._ He grumbled as he walked out of the office, returning moments later with a glass of vodka in his hand. Just as he slipped into the room, dropped a kiss onto the top of Jaimee's hair and began to walk back to his office – he froze.

_What…In…Merlin's…Good…Name…_ Draco's eyes widened to comical proportions and the glass of vodka he held slipped from his hand to shatter noisily onto the floor. He barely heard it – his eyes slowly trailing upwards where he finally found his two ink bottles floating up near the high ceiling – along with just about every other furniture in his office.

_Bloody hell!_

Draco blinked up nervously at the table that was hovering right over his head – praying to Merlin that the furniture wouldn't all just suddenly come crashing back down. Turning panicked eyes back to Harry, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the couch she was sleeping on seemed to be the only remaining furniture that remained on the floor.

_Potter, your bloody children are going to drive me insane!_ Draco thought irritably to himself and just as he took out his wand to set things right, his sleeping wife finally began to stir awake – sitting up from the couch and stretching her limbs out lazily to wake herself up.

When she noticed Draco's stunned, horrified expression, Harry raised an eyebrow at him and cutely tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong, 'Co? Are you finished working?" She asked, raising a hand to brush back an irritating, wiggling strand of hair that kept falling into her eyes.

To her confusion, instead of answering her question, Draco paled further and gaped at her, raised a hand up to point at shakily at her hair. "H—Harry…D—don't move! I—I'll fix it…J—just…D—don't move!" He gasped out loud, forgetting all about the floating furniture as he raised his wand and pointed it at her mane of tangled, _wiggling _black hair.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him and gave him an annoyed look. "Draco, what's _wrong_ with you? Why are you pointing your wand at me? You _know _Wickham said it's dangerous for me to be exposed to magic while carrying the twins, I could—"

"Shhhhh! D—don't move! It might not bite you if you don't move, j—just—" Draco was about to flick his wand over at his wife's moving mane of hair when the door to his office slid open and drew his attention. Both he and Harry looked up to the sight of Byron walking absentmindedly into the room.

"Harry, I know you're supposed to be on leave and everything but Ashford is making me finish these reports in time for tomorrow and I was wondering if you could help me with it—_BLOODY MERLIN'S BEARD! M—MEDUSA! _You're _MEDUSA!_ You've got s—s—slithering _SNAKES _on your head! S—stay away! Don't bite me! Please!" Byron yelped out loud, unwittingly tossing the folders he held in his hand up into the air and scrambling away from Harry in utter horror.

Harry stared at him in question before turning her confused expression to Draco, noting the similar look of horror and panic written clearly all over her husband's face.

"What? What's wrong with him? Why are you both staring at me like that?" Still not clearly understanding what they meant, she ignored Byron's hysterical shouts and walked over to the nearby wall mirror – causing Byron to scoot further away from her and hide behind Draco in fear.

Draco cringed and held his wand up to her hair again. "Harry, don't panic alright? I can fix that with a simple spell, just don't move! I promise I'll—"

The minute Harry saw herself and the dozens of black, red-eyed snakes floating up above her head instead of her hair, she laughed, shrugged and turned around to offer Draco and Byron a sheepish smile. "Not bad…I figured my sons would be more creative than just turning my hair a different color." She reached up and pet a particularly nasty looking snake dangling below her ear, hissing out soothingly to it in parseltongue.

Byron let out a disgusted wheeze of horror and pointed a finger shakily at Harry's head again. "B—bloody hell, Harry! You've got snakes for hair! Th—that's horrifying! H—how can you just—" He stopped and smiled sheepishly at the warning glare Draco gave him at his antics.

As the Malfoy Head walked back warily over to help his wife set her serpent hair back to normal, Byron finally glanced up around the interior of Draco's office – the horrified expression on his face transforming into one of incredulity and bewilderment.

"Uhm….Draco? Why are all your office furniture floating up along the ceiling?"

* * *

**8 Months and 1 Week**

_"_Mmmm…Merlin, that feels good. What time is it?" Draco murmured sleepily as he woke up that morning to the wonderful feeling of his wife trailing teasing kisses along his bare chest. Shifting his legs lazily under the blankets, he reached up and placed his hands on Jaimee's waist, gently trailing down the curve of her hips until his hands cupped lazily at her rounded bottom.

"It's a quarter to 8…You'd better get up soon. You're going to be late." She whispered back, leaning down and tracing her lips along his collarbone – eliciting a groan of pleasure from her sleepy but highly aroused husband. "You know the best way to wake me up, Potter?" He asked with a suggestive smirk, causing Harry to laugh again and answer him with a peck on the lips.

"I don't think so, Draco. Good morning…"

Draco smirked wider when he felt her lean down and begin pressing heated kisses along his neck after she had said this. "Mmmm…Good morning indeed…" He teased, his eyes still closed as he heard her chuckle, her hands moving to trail languidly over his firm, toned body.

"Don't get any perverted ideas, Malfoy. I really _was_ just trying to wake your lazy arse up. You have to leave for work in half an hour and I have another appointment with Wickham this morning. Your mother is coming with me." She told him pointedly, her voice still slightly muffled from where she was now intent on biting and licking along the pale skin of her husband's neck.

He let out a sleepy incoherent murmur in response, thoroughly enjoying the feel of her soft hands lingering over his body and stopping in areas she _knew _would drive him absolutely crazy with lust. When she stopped and began to pull away from him, Draco groaned out loud in frustration.

"You are _such _a little tease, Potter…You just _had _to leave me hot and wanting like this, did you?" He complained sleepily, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed and turning over so he could bury his scowling face into his pillow. Harry laughed at his reaction and rolled her eyes, slipping her feet into her slippers and beginning to make her way to the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a shower, Draco…When I'm done, you'd better be awake or I am _dousing _you with freezing cold water again." She warned halfheartedly, earning another lazy grunt from the blonde when all he did in response was to toss the blankets up over his head.

Once she had entered the bathroom and Draco heard the unmistakable sounds of the shower running, he began to fall asleep again – his eyelids feeling heavy and the muscles on his body relaxing under the comforting warmth of the silk blankets wrapped around him. Just as he was falling into another delightful slumber, he felt a strange wetness _licking _at the side of his face.

Thinking it was Harry cozying up to him again; he shifted under the blankets and pretended to turn his face away. "Harry, stop teasing me if you don't actually intend to do anything else. Just let me get five more minutes of sleep and I swear I'll get up and shower." He mumbled, trying to push her away when the licking shifted to his neck.

"Ugh…You are absolutely _relentless, _Potter! Sometimes I wonder why you weren't placed in Slytherin." He complained out loud again, a reluctant smile making its way onto his face when the licking moved to just behind his ear, causing him to groan and try to move his face away.

"Harry, _stop it._ Now you're deliberately just being a tease. If you don't stop that right now, I am going to screw you senseless—"

_"Draco?! I don't know WHAT you're muttering about over there but I meant what I said! When I step out of this shower, you BETTER have gotten up or I will literally drag your arse out of that bed! I mean it!" _He heard Harry's irritated voice echoing from the direction of the bathroom, her words muffled slightly by the sounds of the running shower water.

Shifting uneasily against the blankets, Draco fused both his eyebrows in sleepy, half-processed puzzlement. _Heh…That's funny…She was just licking me, how did she get there so fast—_ His thoughts deliberately trailed off when he felt the licking start up again – this time followed by a _very _distinct bark that _definitely _did not seem like a sound his wife would – or _could _– make.

_If Harry is shouting at me from the bathroom, then who's this on top of me— _Draco immediately tensed up in horrified realization – his sleepiness completely forgotten. Placing his hands on his attacker, he winced in disgust when he was immediately met with a scruffy, hairy body.

_Oh…Mother…Of…Merlin…_ Forcing his eyes wide open, Draco stiffened and found staring face to face at the slobbering, drooling face of a large, hairy canine who, at that particular moment, stuck its long tongue out again and licked him right along the side of his face.

"_EEEEYUUUUUUCK!" _

Draco immediately shoved the dog right off the bed and bolted up from under the covers, rubbing furiously at the skin of his cheek where the dog had just licked and slobbered all over him right along the side of his face. Growling, he glared angrily at the dog that had now hopped back up onto the bed and gave him a friendly bark, wagging its tail happily at him.

Jumping up from the bed and wiping a towel disgustedly at his face, Draco glowered at the dog in angry indignation. "Where did _YOU _come from, you disgusting mutt?! How did you even get into my bedroom?! Did Harry let you in because I swear if she did, I'm going to twist her ears off—"

A strange noise and movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He cut himself off, blinking rapidly and _very _slowly turning his head away from the barking dog in front of him to inspect the horrifyingly bizarre scene that had once been their bedroom.

The sight that greeted him, however, was one that made Draco's jaw drop open and his eyes glaze over in stunned, speechless disbelief.

A chicken squawked noisily as it flew up over his head – followed by the sound of a small horse neighing impatiently as it trotted past him to plop itself down on the far corner of their bedroom. A couple of ducks and pigeons followed it, causing several feathers to swirl around Draco's frozen, unmoving form but he barely noticed, his eyes circling helplessly around his surroundings. Save for their bed, all other furniture in the room were _gone_ – all of which he deduced had been magically _transfigured_ into the different animals scurrying about around him.

Slapping a hand over his forehead, Draco groaned and turned around, gaping seconds later at the sight of a transfigured half-table, half-cow slinking its way clumsily toward him from the other corner of the room. Growling, he narrowed his eyes and glared at the door to the bathroom.

"_HARRY JAMES POTTER, GET YOUR ARSE IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"_ He growled loudly, kicking impatiently at a random squawking chicken that trotted across his bare feet.

When she didn't seem to hear him right away, Draco scowled and shouted louder – his voice echoing around the walls of their bedroom. "_DON'T MAKE ME DRAG YOU BY YOUR EARS AGAIN, POTTER! GET IN HERE!_" He shouted again and this time, he heard the shower water being shut off.

Draco heard her shouting several indistinct phrases in concern before she came rushing out of the bathroom, her wet form clad only in a white towel and her hair dripping with bubbles and water. When she burst into the bedroom – a bar of soap in one hand and a shampoo bottle in the other – she took one look at her husband's seething form and gaped in panic.

"Wh—what? What happened?! What's wrong, did something—"

Draco blinked once, took one look at her and burst out laughing – his prior concerns immediately forgotten. He stared and sniggered mirthfully at the figure of his glaring wife in front of him, who unknowingly enough to _her, _had successfully sprouted two very white and fluffy bunny ears from her head and was now sporting two sets of whiskers along her nose.

Harry glared at him, one eyebrow raised in irritation.

"_What?! _What's so funny?! Why did you call me out here all of a sudden—_MERLIN'S BEARD! DRACO! WHY IS THERE A DOG ON THE BED?! WHERE ARE ALL THE FURNITURE?! WHAT DID YOU DO?! DRACO? DRACO! STOP LAUGHING! WHAT'S SO FUNNY?! IS THAT A CHICKEN?!" _

* * *

**8 Months and 3 Weeks**

Seated at the head position of the large table in the Malfoy Manor conference room, Draco raised a hand to massage his aching temples. He stared at the scene of his entire family debating heatedly with each other – all of which were locked in several separate arguments pertaining to either Anton or Byron's impending marriages.

An 8-month pregnant Jaimee sat directly in her appropriate seat to his right as the current Malfoy Mistress. She didn't seem to care about the familial spats all around her and was more content on eating the large bowl of chocolate ice cream Draco had set in front of her before the family meeting had started. For several minutes, he contented himself with watching her – hiding a fond smile when Harry looked up, grinned at him and offered him a spoonful of ice cream.

Shaking his head, Draco finally tore his eyes away from her and set his face back into a frustrated growl as he turned back to his arguing family. "_SILENCE, EVERYONE! _You're all acting like a bunch of commoners! One conversation at a time please!" He snapped out loud, finally cutting everyone's arguments short and forcing all their attention back to him.

Silver-blonde heads from all around the table turned and faced him, meeting the irritated scowl on his face with one of their own. Lucius and Narcissa sat at Draco's opposite side near the head of the table while Lawrence and Genevieve sat beside them. Both sets of former Heads and Mistresses were watching the proceedings with calm, idle amusement.

Seated several seats down the table beside his parents, an irritated Anton in his hostile form crossed his arms over his chest and glared angrily at Draco in accusation. "I don't see what we need to discuss about this, Draco. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I have absolutely _NO INTENTION _of getting married. It's _NEVER _going to happen and none of you can force me!" He scowled at them, his shoulders tensing up when he was met with several violent reactions from his cousins.

"Anton, you can _NOT _remain a bachelor your entire life! Not only is it disgraceful to our family but it is completely idiotic!" Alexandra snapped at him from across the table, a giggling Cherry-Lyn seated comfortably on her lap. She pointed at Anton and grinned up at her mother with a cute smile.

"Uncle Anton is _idiotic!"_ She echoed, causing Byron to laugh in amusement at his goddaughter from where he was seated right beside her. "That's right, my smart goddaughter…Your Uncle Anton is an _idiot._" He agreed, picking Cherry-Lyn up from her mother's lap and placing her on his own.

Anton narrowed his eyes at him and was about to snap out a sarcastic retort when Lucius beat him to it and turned a disapproving sneer to Byron. "He isn't the only idiotic one, Byron. _You _also have yet to get married and you're _already _twenty-years-old. Perhaps we should concentrate on getting you married first." He suggested to the rest of the Malfoys, who – except for Draco who cringed knowingly at Byron – all nodded firmly in agreement.

Byron paled at this and let out a nervous laugh. "U—uhm, Uncle Lucius…My case is a completely different situation from Anton's…" He began uncertainly, ignoring the smirk Anton was now sending him from across the table. His words aroused Nadine's curiosity and she raised an eyebrow at him from where she was seated beside her husband.

"Oh…? How so, Byron? Clearly both you and Anton have commitment issues with women, right? Nothing else could explain why you two _still _aren't married until now." She pointed out and if anything, her words caused not only Anton to smirk wider but Draco, Reggie, and William as well.

When Byron couldn't seem to do anything else but stutter out incoherent syllables, Anton spoke up again – directing everyone's attention to his smug face. "While _my _case is more a matter of commitment, my dear family…Byron's case is more a matter of…Shall we say_ a conflict of interest?_" He sniggered at this, causing his parents to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that, darling?" Lizette asked her son uncertainly, the look in her eyes similar to the look Louis was shooting Byron across the table. "If it's simply a matter of choosing the right woman, I shall have my friends in France introduce you to some of their part-veela daughters debuting this season, Byron. That should prove to be a worthwhile venture." Louis offered lazily but Byron paled even more at his words and shook his head furiously in refusal.

"Th—that's generous of you, Uncle Louis! B—but I—I don't think—"

"I can pull several necessary connections of mine from pureblood families all around the world. What kind of woman would you prefer as your spouse? Someone from America? From Italy? From Spain?" Markus Princeton – Alexandra's husband – offered with a smirk and shrug but again, Byron shook his head hastily in growing panic.

"Th—that's not necessary, Markus! Thank you anyway—"

"I'll take you up on that offer, Princeton." Anton spoke up with a sly smirk but Markus just sneered at him and shook his head in pointed refusal. "I'd rather I don't have to deal with heartbroken young debutantes filing lawsuits against me for introducing you to them, Anton." He responded, causing several chuckles from around the table.

"I know a couple of friends who are looking for respectable matches for their debutante daughters this season, Byron. I think Pansy's cousin is debuting soon—"

"Good Merlin, _NO! _Auntie Narcissa…Ehehehe. Thanks but no thanks!" Byron immediately rushed out before Narcissa could even finish her sentence, causing Draco to smirk at him from where he was contentedly watching the scene play out at the head of the table.

"Well I for one am sure that _BOTH _my handsome, charming grandsons do not need any help in choosing their wives. I say we just give them some time to themselves." Genevieve finally spoke up, giving both Byron and Anton a warm, reassuring smile that both men gratefully returned.

Draco sighed and was just about to bring up the next familial issue of concern to be discussed when Lawrence surprised them all by speaking up – causing all eyes to flick to his suspiciously narrowed silver eyes. At once, Byron stiffened and bit his lip in anxious anticipation.

"Humor me for a second here, Byron…If Anton doesn't want marriage because he has commitment issues…And _you _say your case is entirely different. Then pray tell, _what _is your case?" He asked carefully, his gaze piercing directly through Byron's nervous brown eyes.

"Grandfather, if I may speak for Byron—"

"Every Malfoy son has been taught the art of articulate conversation, Draco. I'm pretty sure Byron can speak for himself." Lawrence cut in harshly, keeping his eyes on Byron's ashen face.

Draco fell into an awkward silence after that, unable to say anything else. Byron just laughed nervously and flicked his eyes down to play with Cherry-Lyn's blond locks. "U—uhm… We—well…I uh…Th—that is, it's kind of complicated…I uh…Draco why don't _you _tell them…?"

He gulped and looked up to ask for help from Draco to tell Lawrence himself but instead, he was met with Harry's green eyes. To his horror, the Malfoy Mistress spoke up for the first time since the whole family meeting had started – her voice sounding conspicuously cheerful and nonchalant.

"Lawrence…While Anton's case is a matter of _COMMITMENT_, Byron's case is simply a matter of _PREFERENCE—_" She scowled when Draco cut her off by covering her mouth his hand – only to curse out loud in pain a second later when she had bitten his fingers in retaliation.

"_OW! POTTER—"_

"…_What?!"_

Byron and Draco both froze and flinched at the sharpness of Lawrence's voice when he asked this while Harry just grinned and shrugged, turning back contentedly to her bowl of ice cream. Just as Draco was on the verge of coming up with an intelligent answer, Anton spoke up for all of them.

"Byron doesn't want to marry women because he's _gay_ grandfather…" He quipped cheekily, looking up and smirking at the death glare Byron was now sending him from across the table.

"Anton, you two-faced, veela prick—"

"Wh—what…?" Lawrence croaked out again, interrupting Byron's poorly formed threat and gaping at his godson in stunned disbelief. The metamorphagus smiled meekly at him and ducked his head behind his hand, looking up and meeting Draco's accusatory glare with a shaky laugh.

"I—if it helps, Grandfather…I'm not at _all _opposed to commitment like Anton is, I just—"

"Like blokes…?" Anton supplied for him, obviously trying hard not to smile when he saw the blood drain out completely from his grandfather's face. Draco looked as though he was also trying hard not to laugh at his cousin's less-than-graceful 'coming out' while the rest of the family chose to remain silent – looking anywhere except Byron or Lawrence's flushed faces.

"Anton, shut up right now before I – _EEP! _G—grandfather, wait! I—I can explain, I—I wanted to tell you before, I just—" Byron jumped up from his seat in panic when Lawrence shot up from his, the elder Malfoy growling and looking just about ready to slit Byron's throat.

"You're going to be kneeling in rocks for _WEEKS_ for not telling me this sooner! What am I supposed to tell all my friends _NOW_?! I set up _ALL _those meetings with their granddaughters!" Lawrence snapped, trying to break free from the hold Genevieve had on his arm. Byron cringed and set Cherry-Lyn back on Alexandra's lap so he could rush to the door.

"Grandfather, wait! Stop—"

Draco's indignant protests were cut off abruptly when the table in front of him suddenly – and very randomly – burst right into blazing green _flames._

"_AAAAAAAAARGH! FIRE! FIRE! GET AWAY EVERYONE! MOVE AWAY!" _

Almost immediately, the entire table of sophisticated pureblood aristocrats began screaming, shrieking and jumping up from their seats in hysterical panic – knocking, shoving and tripping all over each other in their haste to move away. Draco stumbled away from the table in shock – accidentally tipping his chair until he fell over backwards onto the floor with an ungraceful crash.

He blinked up at the ceiling for several seconds before forcing himself back up onto his feet with great difficulty and joining the rest of his family in gaping at the scene in front of them. After about a minute of speechless sputtering, Draco finally managed to croak out in a shaky voice.

"_H—Harry…?!_"

His pregnant wife remained seated peacefully and calmly in her seat, eating her ice cream as nonchalantly as someone who was blissfully _UNAWARE_ of the fact that the table she was eating from and the chair she was sitting on was set completely ablaze with magical fire.

Behind him, Draco heard what sounded like the choking sounds Anton and his parents were making along with the panicked screams from his mother, grandmother, and female cousins. Byron had frozen mid-way in his attempt to run out the door and was now gaping at Harry with one eye bigger than the other. Lawrence was right behind him, his previous anger at Byron forgotten and his attention drawn to the large green flames surrounding his pregnant granddaughter-in-law.

Lucius stood directly behind Draco and was the only Malfoy who was merely laughing at the scene, shaking his head at the reaction of everyone else around them. Patting his horrified son's shoulder, he smirked smugly and leaned down to whisper to him in a calm, drawling voice.

"From the looks of things, I suppose we can gather the kind of wizards my grandsons are going to be when the grow up...." He mused proudly, causing the younger Malfoy to run a trembling hand through his hair and return his father's comment with a sheepish, nervous laugh.

"…_BLOODTHIRSTY PYROMANIACS_?"

* * *

**9 Months and 1 Week**

"You taste _really _good, you know that? I want to bite you all over…" Draco murmured lustfully as he trailed searing kisses all over his wife's delectable, pale skin – stopping to nibble at the sensitive area just below her ear and successfully making Jaimee squirm beneath him in pleasure.

"That _tickles_, 'Co…Stop it!" She protested weakly, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. As their lips met and their tongues clashed heatedly against each other, Draco opened his eyes and cast a quick glance over their reflection in the nearby mirror beside their bed – tensing in shock when he saw that Harry's hair had turned into a shade of blonde.

Bewildered, he pulled away and stared down at her – his eyebrows fusing together when he was met with his wife's normal, black hair. Harry looked up at him in confusion and frowned. "What? What's wrong?" She asked him in concern, her hands moving from his shoulders to his back.

Draco spaced out for several seconds before shaking his hastily and managing a laugh at himself. "Nothing, I just…I thought I saw something." He smirked after he said this and leaned down to press his lips against hers again, thrusting his tongue into the delicious cavern of her mouth.

When she moaned softly and began caressing her hands all over the firm muscles of his chest, Draco opened his eyes again, the silver orbs dilating in shock when he saw that _this time_, Harry's hair was a raging bright _orange_ and was now twisting itself into curls as though it had a life of its own.

Sputtering in horror, Draco immediately broke their kiss again and gasped out loud, raising a hand and pointing it accusingly at her hair. Highly irritated, Harry propped herself up on her elbows on the bed and glared up at him, running a hand through her disheveled…_black _strands.

"Y—your hair! I could have s—sworn it was—I—it _changed_—"

"Draco, not everyone cares as much about hair as _you _do. Okay?! For a man, you care more about fixing your hair than _ME _and that's saying something considering I'm a _WOMAN _now!" She snapped at him, her eyes narrowed and a mocking growl on her face.

Draco's jaw opened and closed like a fish out of water, one of his eyebrows raised and another lowered suspiciously over one bleary eye. "Wh—what?! B—but, I s—saw… H—Harry—"

"If you're going to keep doing this, I'm going to go to sleep. Frankly, this is the most _uninteresting _attempt at foreplay you have _ever _done. It's _disappointing._" Harry scoffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes and shifting away from him on the bed so that she could snuggle into her pillow.

Draco continued to gape at her and flicked his eyes back and forth between her and the mirror. "B—but, I swear—I could have sworn I—I saw y—your hair—" He scowled and cut himself off when Harry tossed the blankets up over her head and answered him with an irritated grunt.

"Go to sleep, Malfoy."

His scowl deepened and he glared at her in annoyance. "Oh so it's alright for you to attack _me _whenever you want sex but when _I'm _horny, you're just going to leave me hanging like this and go to sleep?! Some wife you are!" He demanded indignantly, a childish look of frustration on his face.

"Good night, Draco."

Draco pouted at her before grumbling and turning over to his own side of the bed, grabbing his wand from the nearby table and pointing it at the lights of their bedroom. Just before he was about to turn the lights off, his eyes flicked back lazily to the mirror beside their bed again and the sight that greeted him caused him to jump up from the bed and screech in horrified disgust.

"Bloody Merlin's beard! My hair is _RED!_ I've been _WEASLEY-FIED!"_

Flinching awake at the sound of his loud, panicked shouting, Harry glanced sleepily over her shoulder and stared blankly at the sight of her husband rushing in panic to the bathroom. After the door to the bathroom slammed shut, Harry heard the rest of Draco's high-pitched, hysterical rambling echoing around the silent walls of their bedroom.

"_WEASLEY HAIR! I HAVE WEASLEY HAIR! IT WON'T CHANGE BACK! HARRY, HELP ME! IT WON'T CHANGE BACK! I'VE BEEN WEASLEY-FIED, HARRY!"_

Harry rolled her eyes at this and yawned, smirking to herself in amusement. She was just about to go back to sleep when she caught sight of her reflection in the nearby mirror, chuckling when she noticed that her hair was now a bright shade of red and had twisted into rather flattering curls.

Then – snuggling herself deeper into her blankets – she ignored Draco's loud cursing inside the bathroom and patted her stomach with a small, conspiratorial grin.

"Nice one, you two… You've just proven your Marauder legacy."

* * *

"Wow…We're at the final week for your pregnancy, Mistress Malfoy. You must be getting awfully uncomfortable by now." Richard Wickham gave Harry a sympathetic smile, watching as she shifted in her seat and scowled at her sheepishly smiling husband beside her.

"_Uncomfortable _would be putting it mildly, Wickham. I don't care _how much _it's going to hurt at this point. I just want these babies out of me! Lately, they've been using my uterus as a bloody football." She muttered, rolling her eyes when she was met with Draco's confused gaze.

"What's a football?"

Ignoring her husband's ignorance of muggle customs, she turned back to Wickham and glared at the Head Healer as he handed her several potions from across the table. "_This _should help make your last few days slightly more comfortable, Jaimee. Other than that, there's really nothing else I can suggest other than to wait patiently for the babies to come out." He smiled as she accepted the potions, chuckling at the unmistakable excitement written all over Draco's features.

Harry just gave another irritated grunt and shifted in her seat again. "I'm never having kids again!" She turned to glare at Draco. "This is _YOUR _fault, Malfoy. If I had _known_ back then the hardships women go through to have children, I would have kept away from men and married a _WOMAN_ anyway_!_" She snapped, her words causing Draco's eyes to narrow in righteous anger.

"Take that back, Potter! That is an _INSULT _to my manhood—"

"_IN ANY CASE…_" Wickham interrupted them loudly before the couple could fall into another one of their arguments, drawing both their attention back to him. "Your sons should be ready to come out any day now…In the meantime, just try and relax, Jaimee. Your pregnancy was _very _healthy and your sons should be in perfect shape when they come out." He told them and at the word 'perfect', Draco's face lit up with pride and arrogance.

"Of course they're perfect! They're _MY _sons and they have _MY _genes." He pointed out smugly, causing Harry to scoff at him and turn to give Wickham a sullen glare.

"Any chance these babies were asexually conceived?"

* * *

"Anton, I can _NOT _believe you just _BLURTED _it out to grandfather like that! I was supposed to tell him myself! You practically shocked him into a heart attack!"

Her eyebrows raised in avid curiosity, Jaimee sauntered – or rather _waddled_ – into the Malfoy living room early Saturday morning to find Byron and Anton locked in a heated argument over breakfast, their angry voices echoing in the silence of the dining room.

Draco, the only other Malfoy seated at the dining table, was watching the scene with a lazy smirk, his eyes flicking back and forth between his two cousins in mild amusement. When he noticed Jaimee entering the room, his smirk turned into a smile and he stood up to greet her with a kiss.

"Good morning. Are you hungry? I had the house-elves fix up some of your favorites." He gestured to the table in front of them and helped her onto her seat, leaning down to give her another kiss on the top of her head. Harry just grumbled in response, managing a quick 'thank you' before Draco sat back down beside her and resumed his observation of his arguing cousins.

Byron and Anton were seated near the end of the table several seats away from them, their plates of food looking completely untouched as they continued to argue with one another. Ignoring their antics, Harry reached for a nearby muffin and moodily bit into it, her green eyes looking up at Draco in question. "Where's everyone else?" She asked, drawing her husband's attention back to her.

Draco smirked briefly, reaching over and wiping a smudge of chocolate from the corner of her lips. "Mother and Father are at the Ministry fixing up legal documents for our sons' names…My grandparents are having tea with the Parkinsons while the rest of the family is still asleep." He explained, causing Harry to nod again and take a sip of her goblet of water.

"Did you sleep well?" Draco asked her a minute later but his smile turned into a wince when Harry merely glared at him in annoyance. "I'm carrying your two kicking sons inside me, Draco. Do you _think _I slept well?" She snapped sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his question.

Draco clenched his jaw and bit his tongue to keep himself from snapping back a similar sarcastic retort, forcing himself to look away and watch his cousins instead. Byron and Anton remained unaware of them and continued to argue loudly with each other, irritating Harry even more as she groaned and massaged her temples in frustration.

"You should be _THANKING ME _for helping you tell Grandfather the truth, you miserable morphing prick! Unlike me, you no longer have to find a wife before the end of this season! Maybe I should tell them _I'M _gay just so they'd get off my bloody back!" Anton shouted, slamming his goblet of juice back down onto the table in anger.

Byron sneered at him, his eyes narrowing in indignation. "You think I _WANTED_ Grandfather to find out that way? He's the most traditional man I know; couldn't you have given me more _TIME_ to tell him about my…_orientation_? Did you see him this morning?! He looked like he was going to have a heart attack every time he looked at me!"

"I had to say _SOMETHING! _They were all on my case! I had to distract them _SOMEHOW!_ The entire family was going on about how they wanted me to meet more debutantes and get married and all that rubbish, what was I supposed to do?!"

"So instead you diverted their attention to _ME _instead?! You pathetic veela tosser—"

"I said I was sorry, Byron! Alright?! What more do you want from me?! A bloody _SONG_?!"

"Just for that, now you _HAVE _to marry someone! It's the _ONLY _way Grandfather will feel better about finding out I'll never be able to give him any grandchildren!"

"What?! That's ridiculous! I'm _NEVER _getting married—"

"Ugh…This is making my head hurt even more. It's too early in the morning for them to be arguing like this." Harry grumbled miserably to herself, ignoring Draco's smirk as he stood up from his seat and leaned down to give her one last kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll be in my office if you need me, love…I have to finish going through some management reports for Monday. Just call for me if you need anything, alright?" He waited until Harry nodded in response before walking out of the room – stopping only to whack both his cousins on the back of their heads just as he passed them.

Byron and Anton both stopped and glared up at him in annoyance. "_OH PISS OFF, DRACO!_"They shouted simultaneously, causing the Malfoy Head to snigger to himself as he left the room, closing the door shut behind him before he could hear any more of their insults.

Just as Byron and Anton glared back at each other and were on the verge of yet _another _argument, they heard Harry snapping something out loud in frustration. Looking over at the other side of the table, they stared blankly at the sight of the Malfoy Mistress glaring down the neckline of her dress at her stomach with a very stern glare on her face.

"_STOP KICKING! I'M WARNING YOU TWO! _As long as you're in _MY _body, it's _MY _rules! Are you hearing me?!" She admonished, earning a highly amused smirk from both Malfoy sons. Raising their eyebrows, they shared a look of confused inquiry with each other across the table.

When she looked back up and saw their questioning faces, Harry shrugged at them and gave them a rueful grin. "They were kicking again; I had to stop them somehow." She answered, popping another piece of bread into her mouth.

Byron spoke up first, raising a hand and scratching his head. "Uhm…I may not know much about pregnancy Harry but isn't it a _good _thing for babies to kick?" Harry laughed and shook her head in response, looking down in exasperation at her swollen belly.

"Not when they're kicking _EACH OTHER._ I swear, these babies fight almost as much as Draco and I do, it's unnerving." She mused out loud, earning an easy laugh from both men at her words. Anton turned his gaze back to Byron and gave the other Malfoy son a mocking sneer.

"I don't blame them. I know _I'D _like to be kicking _SOMEONE _right now myself." He mocked tauntingly and the minute the words had left his mouth, Byron had snapped his head back to glare at him – his teeth morphing themselves automatically into vicious, snarling fangs.

"Why you sleazy, hideous veela jerk! I'm going to skin you alive and feed you to a pack of vultures!" He threatened with a low menacing growl, his words causing Anton's eyes to flash in indignation as he stood up from his seat and shoved himself away from the dining table.

"Do you want to repeat what you just said to me, Byron?! Come up to me and say it right to my face so I'll know you're not just all talk!" He yelled back, his face transforming into hostile veela form and his hands magically lengthening into very sharp bird claws.

Byron smirked back calmly at him and stood up from his chair with deliberate, arrogant slowness. He ignored the panicked expression on Harry's face and slowly walked over to where Anton was standing, his hands morphing themselves into dangerous-looking, gleaming talons.

"_Gladly, _Anton…" He drawled, stopping directly in front of his half-veela cousin until their faces were merely inches apart. Anton's sneer widened at this and his eyes narrowed in challenge, his hand already reaching into his robe pockets for his wand.

At this point, a thoroughly panicked Harry had jumped up from her seat and had rushed over to stop the two Malfoys before a fight broke out. She laughed nervously and stood directly between them, placing her hands on their chests and shoving them a safe distance away from each other.

"Guys, guys…Come on…Let's not overreact here. Why don't you both cool-off a bit first and _then _we can all talk to the rest of the family about what to do with both your current predicaments." She suggested calmly, wincing when Byron chuckled at her words and sneered smugly at Anton.

"She's right, Anton…We should stop. I don't want to hurt you, you know. I'm a fully trained _Unspeakable _agent. You wouldn't want to mess with me." He taunted, raising Anton's hackles even more as the blonde half-veela snarled at him and hissed out a similar, angry retort.

"Unspeakable or not, Byron…I'm going to bash your bloody brains out! I should have done this _YEARS AGO _when we were children!" He growled and just as he was reaching his claws out to wrap them around Byron's neck, Harry stepped in between them again and pushed the two men apart.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous! You two, _STOP _fighting or I'm going to kick _BOTH _your arses for giving me such an aching headache so early in the morning! _PREGNANT WOMAN HERE!_"

This shut both Malfoy sons up as they flushed and glared at her in helpless exasperation.

Harry smiled smugly at their scowling faces, crossing her arms over her chest and giving both grumbling men an admonishing glare.

"Now I'm going to finish my breakfast in peace and I expect you both to do the same—"

The rest of her sentence died on her lips and her eyes widened in horror.

Swallowing the forming lump in her throat, her green eyes flicked down nervously at the floor when she felt something _very wet, very liquid _and _very_ _WRONG _trickle down from between her legs.

"U—uhm…G—guys…I—I think s—something's wrong…" She bit back a nervous scream and took a careful step backwards, her wide green eyes staring blankly at the puddle of water by her feet.

"D—did I just…_WET _myself?!"

Following her unblinking gaze, Byron and Anton froze for a split second before they cringed, paled and simultaneously jumped back from her in shock. Screaming and cursing at each other in panic, both Malfoys backed away from her frozen form and crashed clumsily against the chairs behind them, stumbling clumsily onto the floor.

Hurriedly scrambling up, Anton ran over to Byron and pulled the other Malfoy back up onto his feet by seizing the front of his robes. _"BYRON, DO SOMETHING! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PREGNANT WOMEN! WILL THE BABIES JUST SUDDENLY START SHOOTING OUT OF HER OR SOMETHING?! DO WE JUST__ CATCH THEM?!"_ He screeched at him, jostling Byron in hysterical alarm.

Byron shoved him away and slapped the other Malfoy back to his senses. "_GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF YOU STUPID VEELA! THIS IS NO TIME TO LOSE YOUR HEAD! STAY CALM!" _He screeched back, his voice cracking as he grabbed Anton by his robes and jostled him pretty much the same way.

"_WHAT DO WE DO THEN?! WHAT DO WE DO?!"_

"_HOW THE BLOODY HELL SHOULD I KNOW?! I'M GAY, REMEMBER?!" _

Oblivious to their antics, Harry was still staring blankly at the wet floor – her shoulders heaving up and down in rapid, shallow pants. Finally, after blinking herself out of her daze, she took another deep, shaky breath and met their panicked expressions with a calm glare.

"Guys…Wh—what's…What's going on…?"

Anton's face was as pale as a ghost as he stared dumbly back at her while Byron looked as though he was having difficulty breathing as he tried to answer her question in a steady voice.

"I—I think your w—water just broke…"

Harry sputtered and looked at him as though he had grown an extra head. Blinking, she tried to laugh but it ended up sounding choked when it came out. When she opened her mouth to ask another question, she surprised herself when her voice came out in a high-pitched, hysterical _shriek._

"_WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS A 'WATER'?! WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS GOING ON?! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY I SUDDENLY WET MYSELF IN THE DINING ROOM?! STOP GAWKING AT ME AND TELL ME—" _

"M—maybe you just really needed to go to the bathroom…?" Anton blurted out stupidly, wincing when he was answered by Byron knocking him upside the head from behind.

Harry continued to shriek anyway as though she hadn't heard him. _"—WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?! DO I NEED TO SEE WICKHAM?! IS IT THE BABIES?! ARE THEY ALRIGHT?! ARE THEY SAFE?! ARE THEY IN DANGER?! IS EVERYTHING GOING TO BE OKAY, DO I HAVE TO—"_

"_HARRY!_" Byron cut her off sharply in a loud voice, walking right up to her and placing his hands firmly on her shoulders to steady her shaking form. The next few words out of his mouth came out as a high-pitched stuttering squeak but Harry caught every word anyway.

"I—I think y—you're about t—to have th—those babies…As in now…_RIGHT_ _NOW…_"

"…………"

As Jaimee's hysterical scream of panic filled his ears – followed later by the loud 'THUD' emitted by the act of Anton's limp, unconscious body hitting the floor of the dining room – Byron fisted his hair, banged his head against the wall and bolted as fast as he could towards Draco's office.

"_DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACO!" _

* * *

**A/N:** Cliffhanger! Never write a story without one! *runs and hides from all the death glares and hexes of her readers* Phew! Fun as writing the pregnancy was, I'm REALLY glad it's over. :D Now I can move back to the plot and throw in more surprises for you guys. *evil smirk*

**Next Chapter: **We find out the names of the two newest Malfoy sons (*jumps up and down excitedly*), A fluffy D/H scene and perhaps a bit of Anton/Ginny

**PLEASE REVIEW! CHEERS!**


	9. More Malfoys, More Trouble

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: I'm sure you're all excited to read the chapter so I'll shut up for now. Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Chapter 9 – More Malfoys, More Trouble**

"_BLOODY HELL BLOODY HELL BLOODY HELL BLOODY HELL!"_

Draco was already rushing into the dining room when he crashed into Anton's rousing form, causing the both of them to end up falling to the floor. Failing to see them in time, Byron yelped as he accidentally tripped over their sprawled figures and ended up stumbling to the floor beside them.

Harry cringed when she saw this and took a step backwards from them, her efforts focused on trying to will herself not to panic and trying to regulate her breathing. She watched as all three Malfoys jumped to their feet, faced each other in a circle and began screaming rushed sentences in shrill, panicked voices that echoed throughout the entire manor.

"_BYRON, WHY THE BLOODY HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL ME SOONER?!_

"_I DID CALL YOU! ANTON FAINTED SO I RAN OUT TO FIND YOU—"_

"_YOU LEFT MY WIFE HERE ALL ALONE?! YOU STUPID MORPHING IDIOT!" _

"_WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! WE HAVE TO TAKE HER TO ST. MUNGO'S, YOU FOOL! STOP SCREAMING IN MY FACE! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO THINK STRAIGHT?!_

"_B—BYRON, YOU'RE GAY! ISN'T IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO THINK STRAIGHT?!" _Anton pointed out, causing two pairs of eyes – on silver, one golden brown – to turn and level him with fierce, angry glares.

"_SHUT UP, ANTON!"_ Draco and Byron snapped simultaneously, their loud voices causing Anton to jump away from them and laugh in embarrassment. Turning back to Draco's flushed features; Byron growled and placed both his hands on the blonde's shaking shoulders.

"_DRACO, ARE YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION HERE?! YOUR WIFE IS GOING TO HAVE HER BABY RIGHT __**NOW**__! YOU HAVE TO BRING HER TO THE HOSPITAL!" _Byron's words completely flew over Draco's head. His older cousin just blinked dumbly at him, his wide eyes looking dazed and disoriented as he stared off into non-existence.

"_DRACO!"_ Byron growled again jostled Draco to his senses while Anton ran clumsily behind them to fetch a glass of water from the dining table, splashing it ungracefully onto Draco's face. This seemed to work as Draco immediately flinched back and began coughing for breath. He looked up, grabbed Anton by his robes and snarled at him in anger.

"_YOU STUPID VEELA—"_

"_Uhm…HELLO?!"_

Hearing Harry's exasperated voice for the first time since Draco had burst into the dining room, all three Malfoy sons turned to gape at her glaring face. She ran a hand through her tangled mane of black hair and gestured pointedly at herself from where she was still standing, her eyes wide and incredulous as she met all their stunned gazes from several feet away.

"A little _HELP _here would be _APPRECIATED! _If you _PLEASE!"_

Completely oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice, the three males suddenly seemed to burst into different, simultaneous reactions. Byron jumped about a couple of feet in the air and ended up crashing his head painfully into the wall behind him while Anton and Draco both cringed and broke off into a sprint towards separate – unfortunately very opposing – directions.

Harry winced to herself in sympathy when she heard the nasty '**SMACK' **indicating the violent crashing of both their bodies. She walked over to them, her hands placed nervously on her stomach. "R—right…Uhm…C—could one of you escort me to St. Mungo's before I freak out again?! Please? Draco?" She stammered in a cracking voice – finally drawing Draco's attention to her form.

Scrambling his limbs back up off the floor, Draco forced a sheepish laugh – or rather a _wheeze_– at her and grabbed her firmly by her hand. He broke out into a sweat at this point but the next few words out of his mouth earned him a nervous, though reassuring smile from his wife.

"_L—let's do this, H—Harry…"_

Just as Byron was rubbing the forming bruise on his head and was in the act of helping Anton back up from the floor, Draco squeezed Harry's hand and began to lead her frantically out of the room. Taking the hint, Byron hauled Anton up by his feet and dragged him along after them, their shrill voices echoing _very _loudly along the long maze of corridors of Malfoy Manor.

"_ANTON, SEND AN OWL RIGHT AWAY TO MY PARENTS! ALSO TO GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER! TELL THEM NOT TO WORRY AND TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE HOSPITAL!" _Draco shouted as they passed the other irritated Malfoys rousing and walking sleepily about in the halls – all of which had evidently just woken up rudely from all the noise they had been making.

"_A—ALRIGHT, I—I'LL OWL THEM RIGHT NOW!" _Anton had jumped again at having been addressed but nodded frantically at Draco's words and tore off towards the other wing of the Manor. After he had gone off, Draco turned to Byron and gave his cousin a similar, frantic look.

"_BYRON! I NEED YOU TO GO AND PACK SOME OF HARRY'S CLOTHES FROM THE BEDROOM! I'LL MEET YOU IN THE HOSPITAL IN TWENTY MINUTES!"_ He continued in a strangely calm voice that betrayed his nervousness, wincing when Harry nearly tripped in their haste. Sighing loudly, Draco stopped and finally scooped her up in his arms before continuing down the corridor.

"_I'M ON IT, I'M ON IT!" _Byron stopped in the middle of the hallway and raised a hand to scratch his head in , he called to their retreating backs. _"_Uhm…I'm new to this 'packing women's clothes' thing so… how many pairs of panties and bras do you think she'll need?"

Draco resisted the strong urge to punch his cousin in the eye. _"BYRON, GODDAMIT—"_

"Alright, alright! I'll make a rough estimate! I'm going!"

When she realized where they were headed, Harry's eyes widened and she tried struggle in her husband's arms. "D—Draco, what are you doing? You can't carry me all the way to St. Mungo's while I'm a whale like this! Put me down—" She stopped when Byron and rounded the corner to separate from them and Draco finally pushed through the doors of the Apparition room.

"Draco, _NO!"_

Growling, she yanked his wand out of his grasp and looked at him as though he was the slowest person on the planet. "Draco, _NO APPARITION DURING MY PREGNANCY, REMEMBER?! IT'S DANGEROUS AND I WON'T RISK IT!" _She struggled to free herself from his arms again but Draco held onto her tighter and slapped a hand over his forehead.

"Damn it! I forgot all about that…Here! Let's use this fireplace to floo out of here!" Draco set her down in front of the large floo-connected fireplace and reached a trembling hand up to grab the bag of floo powder. Unfortunately, his fingers were fumbling so much that the bag slipped from his hand and fell listlessly to the floor – powder scattering all around their feet.

Harry groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Draco, _CALM DOWN—"_

"_WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I'M FINE! I'M CALM – I'M PERFECTLY CALM!"_ Draco shouted loudly right back at her, his voice cracking. He dropped desperately to the floor and began scooping up the powder into his hands, flinging it messily into the flames of the fireplace.

"Draco, you're wasting floo powder! I really think you're on the verge of having a nervous—" Harry never finished and the words died right on her lips as Draco shot back up as though he hadn't heard her, jumped right into the fireplace and shouted out his destination in a loud, assertive voice.

"_ST. MUNGO'S!"_

After a clean, single _'POP' _indicating his disappearance_, _Harry's jaw was gaping uselessly at the molecules of air that had once been where her husband was standing. She slapped a hand noisily against her forehead and groaned out loud in another impatient, exasperated grumble.

"_DRACO YOU IDIOT! YOU FORGOT __**ME**__!"_

The former Slytherin popped right back into the room just as she finished her sentence, laughing nervously in embarrassment. Fumbling for more floo powder from the floor, he tossed it right back into the fire before jumping back up and meeting her glare with a sheepish smile.

_"SORRY!"_

With that, he reached out, grabbed Harry's snarling, cursing figure by her hand and pulled her into the fireplace with him.

_"ST. MUNGO'S! UHM…AGAIN!" _

* * *

About fifteen minutes after they had arrived at St. Mungo's, a nervously flustered Jaimee looked up from where she was seated and smiled wanly at the sight of Ron, Hermione and Sirius rushing into the waiting lobby. Lorraine, Ginny and Regina ran in after them, all three women looking extremely excited as they crowded over Jaimee's seated form.

"Harry! We just heard a couple of minutes ago! Blaise is on his way from work right now. Oh you must be so nervous! How do you feel?!" Hermione gushed out as she enveloped her best friend into a tight hug, causing Harry to roll her eyes and gently push the other woman away.

"'Mione, don't crush me. At least let me get these babies out first." She kidded weakly, causing Ron to laugh at their antics. After acknowledging Draco seated beside Harry with a rather reluctant nod and sneer, Ron turned and rewarded her with one of his trademark grins.

"For what's its worth mate…You're looking awfully _calm _for a former man who's about to pop _TWO _kids out of her." Ron failed to see the warning glare Lorraine was giving him and let out a snigger. "I'll bet this does nothing for your masculinity, does it Harry?" He teased lightly, earning himself a _very _disgruntled glare from Harry as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Scoffing in derision, she raised a single eyebrow and gave him a pointed smirk. "I slept with about _twice_ as many women as you did back when we were at school, Ron…You really want to talk about _masculinity? _I'll shoot you down any time." She retorted in a deadpan voice, causing even Draco – who was sitting stiffly and was as pale as a ghost – to emit a short snigger.

Ron scowled when Lorraine and Hermione laughed at Harry's quip, both women sitting down the seats across Draco while Ron took the seat beside them. Sirius sat himself down right on Harry's other side and took his goddaughter's hand, giving her fingers a firm squeeze.

"You're doing wonderfully, Prongslet…Most women would be screaming their heads off at their husbands at this point but you're still calm as ever. I mean, look at Regina…She was driving me crazy on the way to St. Mungo's—_OW!_" Sirius' scowled as his wife punched his arm when she sat down beside him, giving a weakly chuckling Harry a calm smile.

"Don't listen to Sirius, Harry…He just didn't understand how painful those bloody contractions were. It's great that it seems you're not getting any yet." Regina grumbled, leveling her husband with another punch to the arm. Sirius scowled at her while Harry simply turned to give her a confused look.

"You know that's strange…I don't really understand why women get so worked up over this pregnancy thing. Honestly, I think they exaggerate it so much…I actually feel _fine_." She told them and while Sirius and Draco looked incredibly relieved at this, Hermione, Lorraine and Regina simply met each other's eyes and shared a very similar smirk of amusement.

"See if you still feel that way later, Harry…" Lorraine answered with a sweet smile, reaching over and squeezing the black-haired woman's hands. Harry gave her an odd look of confusion but Lorraine didn't say anything else and simply leaned back against her seat with a chuckle.

A couple more of their friends and relatives rushed into the waiting lobby within the next few minutes after that – including Blaise, Byron and Anton. They seated themselves beside Draco and gave the nervous father-to-be encouraging pats on the shoulder. They were followed by the older Malfoys – Lucius, Narcissa, Lawrence and Genevieve. Before Harry had the chance to greet them properly, Richard Wickham – decked out in his complete Healer robes – finally rushed into the lobby.

"Master and Mistress Malfoy! Right on schedule!" He exclaimed with a bright smile, a bottle of strange pink potion in one hand and a small stack of medical records in the other. Walking over to Harry, he handed her the potion and gave her another kind smile of encouragement.

Harry took the potion reluctantly from his hands and stared at it in question. "Not that I don't trust you or anything, Wickham…But I've learned from past experiences never to take in random potions without being completely aware of its consequences." A couple of sniggers were heard all around them – including Draco's as he took the papers from Wickham's offered hand.

Wickham chuckled at her quip but nodded and indicated to the potion in her hand. "That's just a little something to speed up the contractions and the dilation process, Jaimee. I assure you that it's completely harmless. Just take it in and we'll be done with the delivery in no time, I promise." He told her, watching as Harry drank it all in one gulp while Draco turned to look back at him in question.

"Wickham, do I have to fill out these documents _NOW _or can I—"

Narcissa cut off the rest of Draco's question and rushed over to pull Harry into a tight hug, the smile on her face absolutely beaming with joy and excitement. "Oh _darling!_ You're about to give birth to my two wonderful grandsons! Are you in pain, sweetie? Would you like me to get you anything?" She gushed out worriedly, pulling away and placing both her hands on Harry's flushed cheeks.

Lucius rolled his eyes at his wife's smothering. After exchanging a formal handshake with Wickham, he led Lawrence and Genevieve to the seats near Draco and sat them down beside Anton and Byron. Giving her mother-in-law a forced smile of reassurance, Harry set the empty potion bottle back on the table and shook her head at all the worried looks everyone was giving her.

"Honestly, everyone! I'm _FINE._ I actually felt a lot worse _DURING _the pregnancy than right now and I can assure you that I'm not about to throw a hissy fit right here in the middle of the lobby—_HOLY BLEEDING MOTHER OF A BANSHEE'S COW!_ _WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME WAS THAT?!_"

Everyone around her jumped in surprise when Harry's calm, laughing voice had suddenly exploded into a high-pitched, shrilly scream. Draco looked up in shock just in time to see Harry clutching tightly at her stomach in pain and looking at Wickham with murder in her eyes.

_"_Wickham! You bloody bastard! What the _HELL _was in that potion?! What am I turning into _THIS _time?!" She screamed at him and sensing her anger, Wickham winced and glanced at the watch on his wrist. "It speeds up the biological workings of your body, Mistress Malfoy…Those would be your contractions already. Come with me—" He reached out to pull her up but Harry yanked her arm away from him and looked at him as though he had turned into a flobberworm.

"Oh _NO! _Are you _INSANE?!_ You think I'm going to come with you _NOW?!_ I can't believe you gave me something that – _HOLY BLEEDING MOTHER OF HELL THAT HURTS JUST LIKE A CRUCIATUS! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"_ She shot up from her seat and latched onto Wickham's offered arm like a lifeline, turning around and glaring very venomously at her trembling, stuttering husband.

_"DRACO MALFOY, YOU STUPID, ARROGANT PRICK! THIS IS ALL YOUR BLEEDING FAULT! THE MINUTE I GET THESE BABIES OUT, I AM GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AND FEED THE REST OF YOUR SORRY CARCASS TO A HIPPOGRIFF!"_ She screamed at him, ignoring the stares they were receiving from the other people in the lobby and causing Draco to pale and gape even more in horror.

Hermione and Lorraine were obviously trying very hard to hold in their laughter while Blaise and Sirius were looking at Draco with a hint of sympathy in their eyes, their lips quirking upwards every now and then as they tried to hide their smiles. Ron simply crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at Draco's trembling, ashen figure while Byron and Anton stared at the scene in keen interest.

Wickham gestured frantically to the group of Healers approaching, waiting until they had helped Jaimee into a magically floating stretcher. "Right! Let's go get those babies delivered, Jaimee. Young Master Malfoy! If you'll please come with us now…Everyone else, wait here and wish her luck!" Draco jumped out of his seat and grabbed onto Jaimee's free hand.

Narcissa and Genevieve both rushed over one last time to give Harry a brief kiss of encouragement on her cheek while Lucius and Lawrence leaned back against their seats and brought their pipes out of their robe pockets. Sirius jumped up from his seat and managed to reward his goddaughter with a brief hug and kiss to the forehead before Wickham began to lead her away.

Just before Jaimee was ushered through the doors of the maternity section, Draco let go of her hand and turned around to give his parents one last pleading look. Lucius and Narcissa gave him a smile, nodding and gesturing for him to go on ahead. Instead, the Malfoy Head gulped loudly and finally spoke up in a meek voice for the first time since they had arrived in St. Mungo's.

"I—Is this really happening?"

Lawrence took one look at his nervous face and smirked. He took a long puff from his pipe before speaking. "Stop being a child and go to your wife. You're going to be _FATHER_ now, Draco…That's a big responsibility." He drawled bluntly, causing Draco's eyes to dilate in realization.

"I—I'm a…_FATHER…_"

After emitting one last sound that sounded suspiciously like a choked-up whimper, Draco's eyes finally rolled up to the back of his head and his body fell backward limply to the floor with a loud 'THUD', causing the rest of their watching friends and relatives to cringe in exasperation.

Seeing Hermione shaking her head in frustration and Blaise, Byron, and Anton sniggering to themselves, Ron shook his head in disgust and smirked at Draco's unconscious form.

"Stupid _FERRET…_"

* * *

_"GET THEM OUT OF ME! PLEASE, GET THEM OUT! GET THEM OUT!"_

At this point, Jaimee could feel that her throat was already sore from all her screaming but she didn't care. Her entire body was drenched in sweat as she looked up helplessly at the bright lights of the delivery room and squinted, her breaths coming in very rapid, shallow gasps.

Her eyes blurring with tears of pain, she shut them tightly and held back another agonizing scream just as another contraction plagued her body. When the pain seemed too unbearable for her, she began screaming again – shaking her head furiously at the surrounding healers.

_"PLEASE GET THEM OUT! GET THEM OUT! OH GOD THAT HURTS SO MUCH! PLEASE! PLEASE! HELP ME GET THEM OUT!"_ Her voice broke near the end and a sob escaped her lips. The Healers crowded hastily around her and began to spread her legs apart to start the actual delivery.

Wickham reached over and gave her a hand a firm squeeze. His nose and mouth were already covered by the surgical mask he had on but Harry could tell it was him from the familiar kind look in his eyes. "Try and relax, Jaimee…Okay? We'll try to get through this as quick as we can. I promise." He reached up and wiped the sweat off her forehead, earning a very weak smile from Harry.

She flicked her gaze around the room once, her eyes dimming in confusion. "Wh—where's Draco? Wh—where's my husband?! I—I c—can't do this w—without him, I—" She stopped and her eyes widened again when she felt another excruciating contraction ripping right inside her insides.

Pushing Wickham's hand off her head, she clenched her eyes shut and another scream tore itself right out of her throat. "_STOP! MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T DO THIS, PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! GET THEM OUT!" _She bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood, her shoulders racking with terrified sobs.

Wickham rushed to the front of the room immediately to gather the necessary instruments while the other assistant Healers began readying themselves near her legs. "Your first son is ready to come out, Mistress Malfoy! We already see his head!" One of the nearby female Healers shouted to her, reaching up to tie her own surgical mask over her face.

Harry was no longer listening to her and was shaking her head frantically again in a mixture of pain, fear and panic. "_PLEASE GET THEM OUT, I CAN'T DO THIS MUCH LONGER! I CAN'T! IT HURTS SO MUCH, PLEASE! I'VE NEVER FELT ANYTHING LIKE THIS! CAN YOU GIVE ME A POTION OR SOMETHING! ANYTHING! PLEASE! PLEASE!_" She surprised herself when she realized she was crying, her cheeks flushed in exertion and beads of sweat trickling down the sides of her face.

She had endured countless curses and the worst of spells from Voldemort and the other Death Eaters during the final battle but in her opinion, _nothing _compared to the pain she was feeling right now – coupled with the fact that if she screwed this up, her sons' lives were on the line.

Harry had never been more terrified in her entire life.

Wickham stood near the end of her bed and gestured out more orders to his assistant Healers. "Jaimee, the babies are coming out right _NOW!_ I need you to work with me, alright? I can't do any more magic or give you any more potions at this point; it's too dangerous and too risky during delivery! I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say!" His words were flying over her head but he continued, looking directly into her eyes and giving her a firm look.

Jaimee was still sobbing and her breathing was coming out rapid and very shallow. Her hands were clenched so tightly on the armrests of her bed that her knuckles had turned white in exertion. She looked so completely _scared _and _helpless_ that Wickham had to shout to get her to listen to him.

_"I DON'T WANT TO BE A WOMAN ANYMORE! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE—"_

"_HARRY!" _He finally got her attention by shouting out her given name but the look she gave him was one a five-year-old would have looked like when she realized that she lost her parents.

Wickham tried to speak in the most calming, reassuring voice he could. "I'm going to need you to start _PUSHING _now, okay…? Remember how I taught you about that, Harry? Do you remember?" He asked gently, watching as she finally blinked and nodded reluctantly in understanding.

"I—I think so…" She whispered, her voice shaking as she swallowed and tried to get a hold of her flaring emotions. Wickham nodded and reached over to wipe the sweat off her forehead again. "Good…Now remember what I also taught you about breathing? Regulating your breathing? I want you to do that now…In…Out…In…Out…" She nodded again and began to breathe in time with his words, closing her eyes and inwardly willing herself to calm down.

"Very good, sweetie…Now I'm going to count to three, okay? On three…I need you to start pushing as hard as you can. As _HARD_ as you can, Harry…Can you do that?" Wickham waited for her to nod once more before continuing to speak. "Wonderful…Alright then…On three. One…Two—"

"Wh—where's Draco?" Harry asked again, her voice breaking as she scanned the room once more for a sign of her husband. When she realized that he still wasn't with her, she felt her fear returning full force and she had to clench her hands into fists again to keep herself together.

Wickham looked around the room once before shaking his head at her question. "He isn't here right now, Harry…Okay? He'll be here soon, I promise. Maybe he's still looking for the room. I need you to _FOCUS_ here. Okay? Look at _ME_!" She glanced back timidly at him and met his eyes.

"Push, okay? Ready? ONE….TWO…THREE…_PUSH!"_ The female standing near her feet kept her legs firmly apart as Jaimee willed her strength and did exactly as Wickham instructed – she got up into a sitting position and _PUSHED _as hard as she could – so hard that she felt her eyes blurring with tears again at the excruciating pain that was ripping throughout the lower half of her body.

"_OH G—GOD! I—I C—CAN'T P—PUSH ANYMORE, WICKHAM! I C—CAN'T—IT HURTS TOO MUCH!" _She collapsed back onto the bed on her back and began to sob again in helpless frustration. The Healers kept her legs apart and continued to shout orders at each other – their words echoing clearly around the room but sounding like meaningless garble when it reached Jaimee's ears.

"_A LITTLE MORE, MISTRESS MALFOY! HE'S ALMOST OUT! JUST A LITTLE MORE!"_ Another female Healer shouted to her, reaching up to wipe the sweat from her forehead in comfort. They forced her back up into a seating position, urging her on frantically but Harry was already on the verge of giving up – shaking her head furiously to herself and stuttering through her pained sobbing.

"_I—I CAN'T…I C—CAN'T DO IT A—ANYMORE…I C—CAN'T…I'M SORRY…I CAN'T DO THIS…"_ Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she said this and just as she was ready to break down entirely, the doors to the delivery room burst right open. The Healers turned to see Draco running hastily into the room, his face already covered with a surgical mask and a look of guilt in his eyes.

"I'm here! I'm here, Harry! I'm so sorry!" He stopped right beside her and knelt down onto the floor so that he was looking at her face, his hand reaching down to intertwine his fingers with hers.

Blinking through her tears, Harry took one look at him and gave him a small, shaky smile of immense relief. Before Draco knew what was happening, she raised a hand and _slapped _him hard – causing his head to snap back in surprise for a brief second before he turned back to glare at her.

"Wh—what was _THAT _for—" Draco didn't finish as she broke out into an exasperated, tearful laugh and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes in exhaustion as another tear rolled down her cheek. "Malfoy, you stupid _JERK! _You're _LATE! _I needed you _HERE!"_ She choked out, crying softly against into his shoulder as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"_MISTRESS MALFOY, YOU HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING—"_

Ignoring the Healers around them, Draco's eyes softened and he used his free hand to gently brush a lock of sweaty black hair from her forehead. He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek in comfort. "I'm _sorry_, Harry_…_I was scared too…" He whispered, pulling back so he could look right into her eyes.

"But I'm here _NOW…_And I'm not going anywhere._"_

She couldn't see his lips through the mask but the look in his intense silver eyes and the smile in his voice told her all the unspoken words and feelings she needed from him. Sensing her rekindled strength, Draco stood up and helped her back into a sitting position. He reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes, using the same gesture to brush her long hair back behind her ears.

"Come on, Potter…Don't you _DARE _wimp out on me now. _I'M_ the Slytherin remember?"

Another choked-up laugh escaped Harry but she nodded carefully at his words and bit her lip again, steeling her nerves and clenching her eyes shut. Wickham smiled at this and signaled to her one last time. "Alright, Harry…One more time…One last push…One…Two…Three…_PUSH!"_

She clasped tightly onto Draco's hand and summoned the remaining strength inside her to push again – all the muscles in her body screaming in pain and agony. Draco winced as he felt her fingers tighten around his hand but he squeezed them back tightly and watched with wide eyes as Harry gave one last relieved cry before she fell back onto the bed and shut her eyes in exhaustion.

A high-pitched sound of a baby crying filled the room and Draco's eyes widened immediately, flicking up and watching in absolute childlike wonder as Wickham straightened and stood back up – holding in his arms the most _beautiful_ and _perfect, _tiny living being Draco had ever seen in his life.

_"_8 pounds! He's a healthy baby boy, Master Malfoy! Congratulation to you both! I'll go and get him cleaned up right now._" _One of the female Healers called out to the new parents as she inspected the newly born infant crying loudly in Wickham's arms.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Draco somehow found the voice to speak. "I—is that..I—is that really _MY _son…?" He whispered achingly, his eyes a little misty as he watched the female Healer take the baby from Wickham's hands and began to towel him off. "C—can I h—hold him—"

"Oh dear….The second baby is about to come out now. Everyone back to their positions now!" Wickham and the rest of the Healers were already beginning to gather around Harry once more and were repositioning themselves near her parted legs. "Alright, I already see his head! Looks like he missed his brother too much! Same procedure, Harry…I need you to push on three. On my count—"

Jaimee shot up from her seat and was screaming again in pain, her fingers re-clenching dangerously around Draco's hand and making him wince. "_OH GOOD GOD! I THOUGHT IT WAS OVER! I FORGOT THERE WERE 'TWO' OF THEM IN ME! DAMN YOU AND YOUR STUPID SPERM, MALFOY!" _

Draco could literally hear the bones in his fingers being crushed. "I—I'm sorry, l—love—"

She turned and began hysterically slapping away the hands of the Healers who were trying to usher her back into the proper sitting position.

"_I ALREADY GAVE BIRTH TO A BABY! WHO SAID I HAD TO POP OUT BOTH?! WELL… MAYBE HE 'WANTS' TO STAY IN THERE! NO STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE! DRACO, YOU JERK! I HATE YOU!!!!"_

* * *

_Draco…?_

Harry had absolutely _no _idea how long she had been asleep or where she was that morning. She heard the faint, familiar sound of her husband's voice several feet away her bed, causing her to stir slightly and shift underneath the blankets. Forcing her eyes open, she cringed when she was met with the bright sunlight pouring into her private hospital room from the window beside her.

_Where am I…? Wh—what happened…?_ _My babies…Where? _She yawned softly and closed her eyes again, trying to stretch her sore muscles underneath the covers but stopping midway to wince in pain. _I feel so tired…So sleepy…So drained…_She thought weakly, her mind only half-awake as she blinked up and tried to accustom her eyes to the glare the sunlight cast on her bed.

When her vision finally began to refocus, she forced herself up into a sitting position against the bed rest and looked around the room. Placing her hands on her suspiciously _flat _stomach, she was just about to panic when something caught her attention from the far corner of the room.

The scene that greeted her, however, was one that brought a small, tender smile to her face.

Seated on a couch near the window, Draco was peering down and cradling a squirming bundle of blue blankets to his chest – chuckling softly every now and then as he answered his baby son's nonsensical gurgles and sounds with softly whispered sentences.

The window beside him cast several rays of light onto his handsome features – illuminating his blonde hair and allowing Harry to see the look of genuine awe in his eyes as he gazed into the face of the baby in his arms. He was looking at his infant son with so much wonder and amazement written in his features that the sight of his childlike expression brought a smile to Harry's lips.

_Silly Slytherin git…_ She thought fondly to herself with a smile, shaking her head as Draco leaned in again and gave his son a soft kiss on his forehead. _I would gladly give birth to a dozen more of his children if it means I can see him acting like a little boy like this each time… He looks so happy. _

She watched with a contented grin as her husband chuckled softly and leaned down to nuzzle his son's soft, baby cheeks. It was a hidden side to Draco that even _SHE _hardly ever saw and she would have given anything to just watch him silently like this for as long as she could.

Unaware of the way she was staring at him, Draco peered down closer to inspect his son's adorable baby features and began to speak to him in a soft, cajoling tone of voice.

"Did you know…That you and your brother look an _AWFUL _lot like me…? My hair…MY nose…My chin… I'll bet you're going to grow up drop dead gorgeous one day, aren't you?" He grinned impishly at this but his baby son just yawned at him, obviously not understanding his father's words.

"Hmm…Except for your eyes…You've both got your mother's green eyes. I was actually hoping you would, you know… She's got the most _beautiful _eyes…Although don't tell her I said that. She's a real downright, annoying _prick_, your mother. But you know I love her." Draco smirked and shook his head at himself, failing to hear the quiet laugh that had escaped Harry's lips.

Draco leaned down again to inspect his son's face more carefully. "Hmm…Now that I think about it, you look a _TAD _bitlike your mother too. When she was a boy, I mean. Actually…You're kind of like a mixture of us both. Your mother was a _REALLY_ _gorgeous _male too you know but…er…yeah, let's not get into that discussion until you're much older alright?" He winced after he said this, watching as his son merely opened his eyes and looked up sleepily at him.

"Humph. I know that look. You think I'm a boring father, don't you?" His infant son gurgled again and squirmed. "Oh _DON'T try _to play cute with me, Garrett Draco Malfoy. I'm your _FATHER_, I'm not supposed to be drawn in by your…_adorable_…baby-ness…" Draco broke out into a grin at the end of his sentence and he laughed helplessly when his infant son gurgled and squirmed in his arms again.

"Alright, so maybe you _are _deceitfully too darn cute for your own good. You should know that Malfoys do not _DO _cute, Garrett."

"Garrett, huh?"

Draco nearly jumped out of his seat at the sudden sound of his wife's amused voice. Looking up at her from across the room; he flushed in embarrassment and managed to give her a small, sheepish smile. "I was just trying it out, actually…You can still say '_veto' _if you don't like it." He assured her hastily, slowly rising from his seat with their son tucked carefully in his arms.

Harry smiled at him in thought as she propped herself up against her pillows and watched as Draco sat down onto the bed beside her. "Hmm…_Garrett Draco Malfoy_, huh? Well to be perfectly honest, Draco…I actually like it." She teased, looking around the room in search of her other son.

Draco's eyes brightened at her words and he smiled back at her, turning back to peer at Garrett's adorable face just as he let out a soft yawn. "He's the older twin; actually…Our firstborn son…His brother is sleeping in the crib. Would you like to hold him…?" He looked up and smiled when Harry nodded gratefully at him before placing Garrett carefully down on the bed beside her.

"Was I asleep long?" She wondered idly as she straightened up, pulling the blankets wrapped around her legs tighter around herself. Draco nodded in response as he got up and helped fluff up the pillows behind her. "About a day, actually…You fainted right after giving birth to our second son. They gave you a sleeping draught and you've been out like a light since then."

As Draco walked back over to the crib in the corner of the room to their sleeping younger son, Harry took that opportunity to lean down and peer into Garrett's squirming figure – her eyes softening with affection when she took in her son's beautiful features. As though sensing his mother's attention, Garrett gave a soft gurgle and opened his eyes, allowing Harry to see a pair of bright green orbs.

"He's beautiful isn't he..?" Draco asked with a small smile, carrying their sleeping younger son as he walked back over to the other side of her bed. He deposited the baby gently into his wife's arms before picking Garrett up again and sitting himself down on the bed beside her.

Harry could only nod back silently, her throat too constricted to speak as she stared up close at the sleeping, angelic face of her baby. Cradling him gently against her chest, she peered down into the bundle of blankets and gently reached out to stroke the wisps of silver blonde strands on his head.

The baby turned slightly in his sleep, allowing Harry to smile at the sight of his pale skin, his perfect, asymmetrical baby nose and the unmistakable Malfoy chin. His eyes were closed but since he and Garrett were identical, she knew he had green eyes as well. She leaned down and dropped a soft, loving kiss onto her son's tiny baby hands, her eyes growing slightly misty with tears of emotions.

"My god…H—he's _gorgeous…_H—he—" She bit her lip and her words ended up sounding choked, causing Draco to laugh gently at her reaction. He leaned toward her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Potter, are you _crying…? _Come on, what happened to that 'masculinity' remark you gave Weasley awhile ago?" He teased gently, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her face.

Harry glared weakly at him and tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes. "Shut up, Draco. I—I c—can't help it…Wickham warned me about this. My hormones are _all over _the place right now and H—Hermione was right…J—just looking into my s—sons' faces, I—" She stopped and wiped her eyes again, looking down at her son's sleeping, adorable face.

"I'd gladly go through that labor crap again…I understand now why women are so attached to their children…" She whispered, smiling as she reached out and touched a finger gently to her son's soft, baby cheek. "He looks like an angel, Draco…They both do. They look like _you_…" She looked back up and smirked at him before Draco could make an arrogant comment about her quip.

"Although _UNLIKE_ their Father, they probably don't turn into nasty obnoxious _FERRETS _the minute they wake up and start to open their mouths." She teased, earning herself a growl from Draco as he poked her lightly in the ribs.

"Shut up, Potter." He grumbled irritably, turning his attention back to Garrett's sleepy green eyes. "See? What did I say? I _told_ you your mother was an annoying prick." He drawled, earning himself another gurgle from the infant and an amused laugh from his wife.

After another minute, Harry relented and stared affectionately at the dozing baby in her arms again. "In all honesty though, Draco…Save for my eyes, they _do _look an awful lot like you. They've even got that stuck-up, arrogant chin you have and your perpetually angry eyebrows." She kidded, earning herself another poke from her mildly indignant husband.

"I do _not _have 'perpetually scowling eyebrows', Potter!" He snapped, wincing when Garrett began to whimper loudly at the sound of his father's loud voice. Harry sniggered at him and waited until Draco had calmed the infant back down. After a couple more minutes, Draco spoke up again in a softer whisper – his eyes not on her but on Garrett just as the baby was beginning to fall asleep.

"In some angles, they look like you too, Harry…When you were male, of course." He noted idly with a smirk, causing Harry to flinch at his words. "Yes but _you _try explaining that to them when they ask what that means, 'Co…" Draco laughed and shook his head at her words.

When they fell into another comfortable silence – both of them just staring intently at the baby in their arms – Draco looked at Harry again and quirked the corner of his lips into a half-grin.

"You did wonderful, Harry…How are you feeling now…? You look tired…Are you okay?" He asked her gently, chuckling in surprise when all Harry did to answer him was to make a face.

"I just pushed about 16 pounds out of me, Malfoy… Do I look _that_ horrible?" She kidded, rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out at him in response. Draco offered her a smirk and raised one eyebrow in amusement. "Would you blame me if I said you _did?" _He retorted wryly, laughing about a second later when he was answered with a punch to his arm.

"Screw you, Malfoy."

Draco's smirk widened. "Already? Tsk. But you just gave birth, Potter! Don't tell me you want _another _baby? Not that I mind really but I'd rather we take these things one step at a time—"

"Bite me, Ferret."

"Hmm. Maybe later, Scarhead. Not in front of my sons."

"Arrrghh!"

His smirk transformed into a genuine smile at this point and he reached out to place a kiss onto the back of her hand. "You look _beautiful_ as always…" He murmured, watching with a fond laugh as Harry looked hastily away from him to hide the flush that rushed into her cheeks.

Leaning down to give her sleeping son a kiss, she leaned back against the headboard of the bed and stroked her son's cheek with a gentle finger. She was unable to say anything else in those next few moments and Draco was content to just watch her from the corner of his eye, noting the look of pure amazement on her face. Finally, looking up at him, she gave him a small, shaky smile.

"It's amazing isn't it…?" She whispered, her eyes flicking back to their younger son. Draco looked up from Garrett's sleeping face and blinked at her in question.

"What is…?"

Harry bit her trembling lip and took a deep, shaky breath. "I finally understand what Hermione told me before about children. J—just being able to look at them now and r—realizing that th—they came from me…Th—that we actually _made_ something…_created_ something so beautiful…" She looked back up into her husband's curious eyes and offered him another smile.

"You probably don't understand the physical connection as much since you're still a male but there's just this strange emotion associated with the fact that I know they grew _inside_ me…Maybe it's because I'm a woman now…" She whispered more to herself than anyone else, unaware of the way Draco was watching her with a hint of gentleness in his eyes.

"Is that…_bad?"_

Hearing the concern in his voice, she looked up at him and laughed softly, shaking her head and giving him a reassuring grin. "No, Draco…" She reached over and used her free hand to intertwine their fingers together, giving his a firm squeeze.

"It's not bad at all. It's good. It's…_perfect_…" She told him, chuckling softly when she was met with her husband's dimpled, boyish smile.

Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers before smiling and gesturing to the baby in her arms.

"_You _name him, Harry…"

At her surprised look, Draco shrugged and gave her a teasing grin. "Actually, if it's alright with you…Since our firstborn is taking my name as his second, I kind of wanted our younger son to have 'Harry' as his second name…Would you like that?" He looked at her intently in question.

The corners of her lips quirked upwards slowly into a fond smile and she nodded at him, her green eyes glowing with warmth and affection. "I would _love _that, Draco…" She whispered, turning her attention back to the baby in her arms and smiling when she looked into her son's cute face again.

Draco contented himself with watching the emotions running all over his wife's exquisite face. He felt the familiar feelings of love, pride and utter, idiotic happiness bursting in his chest as he gazed upon his beautiful family but he refused to let it show – keeping his face stoic and calm.

He watched her as she looked intently at their younger son in thought, her eyebrows fusing together in an expression of deep contemplation. "I'll say it again... They look _so _much like angels when they're asleep. You'd almost think they were so innocent…" She thought out loud in amusement, earning a laugh and smirk from Draco when he heard her words.

"I'll bet you didn't think of them as being 'angels' when they were coming out of you, Potter—"

"_Gabriel."_ Harry suddenly blurted out, cutting right through Draco's teasing remark as she looked up at him and gave him a questioning smile. Draco blinked for several times to process what she had said before raising a eyebrow and mulling over the name in thought.

"Hmm…_Gabriel Harry Malfoy_… Garrett and Gabriel Malfoy…" Draco shifted Garrett carefully in his arms and pretended to stroke his chin in thought. Harry bit her lip and watched his reaction closely, shifting impatiently on the bed as she waited for her husband's opinion.

Draco was gazing back and forth between their two sons in silence.

"Garrett Draco and Gabriel Harry…Hmm…Interesting." He finally turned back to meet his wife's nervous expression and rewarded her with a small, teasing smirk. "I like it, Potter…Thank Merlin you finally chose a name that won't get my son manhandled in the playground." He drawled, causing Harry to laugh in relief and punch him lightly on the arm.

"Arrogant _prick_."

"Annoying _bitch_."

"Slimy _Slytherin_."

"Good-goody _Gryffindork_."

"You bloody _FERRET_—"

_"I love you, Harry." _

Blinking at his unexpected response, Harry glanced up in surprise and found herself looking into Draco's intense silver eyes. Cradling Garrett gently against his chest, he stared at her for a long time before flicking his gaze back down to his son's sleeping face and allowing a tender smile.

"They're beautiful, Harry…I love them already…And I love you…Thank you." His voice had come out in a very soft, shaky whisper but she caught every word. She watched as Draco continued to stare at Garrett with an expression of reverence and absolute wonder written all over his face.

When she couldn't find the voice to answer him, Harry swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at Gabriel instead, trying to fight the mistiness forming in her eyes once again. _Damn these stupid female hormones! Stop crying, Potter! Stop it already! _She thought desperately to herself, shutting her eyes and leaning down to place a soft kiss on Gabriel's forehead.

After a long moment of silence, Harry finally sighed in defeat and allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. She shrugged helplessly and gave her smiling husband a shaky, tearful smile.

"I—I love you too, you git. B—but I swear, if y—you don't stop exploiting my stupid female hormonal state like this, Malfoy…I'm going to kick your arse—" Her voice broke near the end of her sentence and Draco laughed, setting Garrett back down carefully on the bed.

He reached out and pulled her trembling form towards him, tilting her chin up he could look into her beautiful face. "You're such a girl, Potter…" He teased gently and before she could utter a retort, he leaned over Gabriel's sleeping form and caught her lips in a deep, loving kiss.

* * *

Ginny was about to follow Hermione and Lorraine into the nursery room of St. Mungo's that afternoon when she heard a familiar voice calling out her name in an urgent whisper from behind. Turning around to check the hallway, she frowned in confusion when she saw that no one was actually behind her and that the rest of her friends and family were already inside the nursery.

_I hate hospitals… They give me the creeps._ She thought irritably, wrapping her arms around herself. She was just about to enter through the doors of the nursery when she heard another whisper coming from the empty room across the hall, causing her to look up in confusion.

She was just about convinced that she was hearing voices in her head when the handsome, smirking face of Anton Malfoy peered out from behind the door across from her. He gave her a lazy half-smile and beckoned her briefly into the room, his bright blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Are you _insane_ scaring me like that?! What do you _want, _Malfoy_?!_" She hissed back, flicking her eyes back to the rest of their friends and noting with relief that they were busy trying to look for the twins inside the nursery. Anton shook his head and beckoned her into the room again, pointing his finger impatiently at his wristwatch to indicate for her to hurry up.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny sighed in exasperation but followed him into the room, raising an eyebrow in question when he closed the door immediately and cast several charms on the lock. "What do you want, Anton? If you're trying to seduce me, I doubt that a hospital room is the way to go." She mocked sarcastically and at that, Anton chuckled in amusement and shook his head.

"That's not why I called you in here, Ginny. Though let's talk about that after this discussion." He winked suggestively at her, earning another irritated look from the redhead. Looking around the clean white room, she leaned against the door behind her and gave him an expectant glare.

"Well? Hurry it up, Malfoy. I don't have all day. What do you want to say?" She snapped, watching as Anton mirrored her position and leaned against the bed behind him with a lazy grin.

"I have a proposition to make, Miss Ginevra Weasley. One you can't refuse." He drawled smugly, watching as she crossed her arms protectively over her chest in growing suspicion.

"What do you mean by that? What kind of proposition exactly, Malfoy?" She asked, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits. Anton smirked at her and used a single hand to casually brush back the strands of silver blonde hair that had dislodged itself from his hairclasp and had fallen into his eyes.

"I heard from a _very_ reliable source…Your friend Hermione to be exact…That your family is somewhat…encouraging you to marry soon. You're two years past your hunting season now, correct?" He asked nonchalantly, causing an irritated flush into Ginny's pale cheeks.

"So what if I am? What's that to _you, _Malfoy? Not all women become debutantes with the sole intention of marrying the first idiot that comes her way. I'm just _picky_ with men, is all_._" She huffed indignantly, the defensive tone in her voice causing Anton to snigger to himself.

"Picky or not, Miss Weasley…One more year and you're practically labeled 'old hag' by pureblood society. Besides, it isn't seemly for a beautiful woman like you to still be single." He pointed out, causing her cheeks to flush even darker in frustration.

"I don't _need _a man to be successful or happy, Anton. I'm sure you feel the same way about women." She snapped at him and at her words, Anton's face broke out into a wide, conspiratorial grin.

"Exactly…" He drawled, chuckling and straightening up from his leaning position to walk up right to her. "That is _exactly_ what I meant to say, Ginny. We both have similar views regarding marriage…Don't you think so?" He asked idly, flicking his eyes down to inspect his nails in boredom.

Ginny simply raised an eyebrow again in growing impatience. "And your point is?"

Anton grinned at her deadpan tone of voice and gave her a mischievous wink. "Ah but you see we have a similar problem, Miss Weasley. You see...My family at the moment is…shall we say _pressuring _me to find a suitable bride before the end of this season."

Ginny looked slightly surprised at this but he continued before she could ask him anything.

"My grandfather has already threatened me with the possibility of being disowned from the family if I refuse to marry…Can you see the problem in that for me, Ginny?" He looked up and pretended to give her puppy-dog eyes, causing Ginny to scoff at him in derision.

"Why should I even _care_, Malfoy?" She asked bluntly, smirking when she saw a brief flash of irritation in Anton's eyes. He sighed dramatically and walked closer to her, raising a hand to touch her cheek. "Don't you see it, Ginny? We just _may _find the solution to each of our problems in _each other._" He smirked at her in triumph but Ginny was lost and she just blinked at him in question.

It took her a couple of seconds to actually realize what he was suggesting and the minute she did, a choked-up laugh escaped her lips.

"You mean…_GET MARRIED?! _You want _ME _to marry _YOU, _Malfoy?! That's _ridiculous! _No bleeding way!" She scoffed, turning around and making to walk out of the room but Anton sighed again and grabbed her by her arm to keep her in place.

"Just _listen_ to what I have to say first—"

"No way! You're nutters, you are! That is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard!"

"Is it?" Anton challenged with a glint in his eye, his fingers tightening around her arm. "It's the _perfect_ solution, Ginny. You and I obviously have no qualms with each other _sexually. _We know that from past experience. So there won't be any suspicions about our marriage…Plus, we understand each other as kindred spirits. We're very much alike, you and I." He pointed out but Ginny was still looking at him as though he was the dumbest person on the planet.

"Why _ME_, Anton? I'm a _Weasley, _your family and mine hate each other! Your father would hang himself when he finds out you're marrying a Weasley too. Besides, why not get another one of your slutty, ex-girlfriends to do it?" She mocked pointedly but Anton just laughed and shook his head.

"Another reason I chose you is _exactly _because you're a Weasley. Think of it as a form of spiteful rebellion against my family if you will. And besides…I want someone who's experienced and emotionally unattached like me. I don't want someone who clings onto the chance of me being a loyal, perfect husband to her." Anton rolled his eyes, looked utterly disgusted at the idea.

"I want someone who's just as jaded about the entire experience of a relationship as I am…That's _you, _Ginny. I want _you _to be my bride." He ended this with another smug smirk, watching as Ginny seemed to consider his words a bit more.

"B—but this is ridiculous! You can't expect me to—"

"I'm looking for a _PARTNER_, Ginny. I'm not looking for a _WIFE._ I don't want some blushing, innocent girl who thinks she's going to have the perfect fairytale ending with me. I've lived and gone through so much deceitful women in elite pureblood society too long for me to know that doesn't exist." He sounded sardonic as he said this, rolling his eyes to himself.

"Harry and Draco—"

"They're the _EXCEPTION, _Ginny." Anton cut her off coldly, rolling his eyes at her words. Ginny frowned, her features still creased with doubt and uncertainty but Anton continued anyway.

"I don't want some gushing bride who's going to promise me her loyalty and smother me with her love, attention and dreams of romantic escapades together. That's _rubbish. _I want a _business-like_ arrangement. Pure and simple. You and I get married…You get your benefits, I get mine. Consider it a mutually beneficial relationship." He finished, looking up and meeting Ginny's narrowed eyes.

She remained silent as she pondered the meaning in his words. "And what benefits would those be, Malfoy? What's in it for me?" She asked, biting her lip in careful consideration.

Anton shrugged at her words and rewarded her with a roguishly handsome smile.

"You acquire the Malfoy name…I give you enough money to spend as much as you want on clothes, jewelry and all other rubbish women enjoy. Your name gets you inside access to all the elite parties around Europe…Think of all the gossip you'll gather for your job. Need I really say more, Ginny?" He paused after this and gave her a self-satisfied smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ginny raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And _your _benefits, Malfoy?"

He grinned again and answered her with a cajoling wink. "You don't bother me when I have mistresses or affairs with other women…You don't rat me out to my parents or grandparents either. And eventually…When the time is right, you give me _one_ possible heir—" He stopped abruptly when Ginny laughed and gave him a mocking smile.

"So do you still expect that I sleep with you at night? What about _MY _own dalliances, Anton? Will I be allowed to have relationships with other men as well?" She challenged knowingly, failing to see the way Anton's jaw had clenched in annoyance at her question.

"Of course. You're entitled to that as well. But _ONLY _with utmost discretion. I don't want other people talking about us in the society tabloids. Plus, I really don't want my male friends mocking my manhood either about not being able to satisfy my wife sexually." He drawled darkly and his irritated reaction caused Ginny to snigger to herself in satisfaction.

After a moment of silence, she looked up at him again – straightening up from the door and walking right up to him. "What makes you think I even _want_ to marry you, Anton? Maybe the whole concept of marriage is something utterly _mundane_ to me altogether…Ever think of that…?" She challenged again and if anything, her words only caused Anton to smile even wider in self-assurance.

"_That_, my dear Ginny, is _exactly _why I chose you." He paused and leaned down to place a suave kiss onto the back of her hand. "You're _my _kind of woman, Miss Ginevra Weasley. Also…I'm not exactly opposed to the idea of sharing a bed with you every night, if you know what I mean." He added a suggestive wink to this last statement, eliciting a helpless laugh from Ginny at his antics.

"So do we have a deal…? Will you be the future Mrs. Anton Malfoy?" He asked again, smiling genuinely this time as he took a step back from her and offered her his hand.

She stared at it for a moment, her eyebrows fused together and a dubious expression on her face. Then, after nodding to herself in assurance, she finally smirked and slipped her hand through his.

"It's a deal."

* * *

"They're absolutely _darling_! I can't believe how much they look like my Draco." Narcissa gushed adoringly as she cradled Gabriel in her arms in the middle of the hospital nursery, smiling and leaning down to nuzzle her grandson's cheek. Lucius and the rest of the other Malfoys were gathered around her and peering over her shoulder with similar smiles of pride on their aristocratic faces.

Hermione, Blaise, Sirius and Regina were beside them and gathered similarly around Garrett's crib – the older Malfoy twin cradled gently in Lorraine's arms. Blaise peered over Lorraine's shoulder and smirked at the blonde infant. "Yep, I can see it now…You're going to be one of the biggest pricks of your generation just like your father, Garrett…" He drawled, earning himself a nudge from Lorraine.

Sirius and Ron both laughed at Blaise's quip while Lorraine smiled and deposited Garrett into Hermione's arms next, leaning over the other girl's shoulder to coo at the baby in adoration.

"They're so _CUTE, _Auntie Narcissa…Uncle Lucius…They're such a beautiful blend of both Draco and Harry. I just want to bring them home and hug and squeeze them all over." She mused, earning more amused chuckles of agreement from the crowd of Malfoys beside her.

"Of course they are, Lorraine…With both their parents' good genes…" Lucius answered back proudly, peering over his wife's shoulder again so he could gaze into Gabriel's face.

"Little buggers look like their mother too… Amazing how they look so much like _both _their parents. More of Draco though." Byron quipped with a chuckle as he reached a hand over Narcissa's shoulder and tickled Gabriel's stomach – causing the baby to squirm in his grandmother's arms.

"Aw…Aren't they just absolutely adorable? I could just cuddle them up like teddy bears…" Genevieve cooed out loud, giggling as she leaned down and gave Gabriel a kiss on the cheek.

Lawrence rolled his eyes at her words and simply raised an eyebrow at all their actions. "They're not pets to be coddled, Genevieve. They are Malfoy _sons _and they will learn to be proper aristocrats just like all Malfoys when the time is right." He drawled in a serious voice, causing Sirius to roll his eyes just as Hermione handed Garrett to him.

"You talk as if they're not _babies_, Lawrence. They've just been born! Give them a break before you ladle on all that proper aristocratic upbringing rubbish." He retorted, chuckling when Regina began to coo over his shoulder at Garrett as well. Lawrence looked as though he was going to say something else as a retort but Genevieve beat him to it and spoke up before him.

"In any case, I think their names are wonderful. Garrett and Gabriel Malfoy…They're a delightful addition to the Malfoy family. I'm so proud." She gushed happily, failing to see the way Ron was rolling his eyes at all of them from where he was standing by the nursery entrance.

Walking over to stand behind his wife, Ron turned and gave Hermione a snort of amusement. "They're not _that_ cute, are they? I mean…They _can't _be that cute if they look more like _Draco_ of all people—" All sets of Malfoy eyes turned and glared daggers at him – including his wife's.

Laughing nervously, he ducked his head behind his hand and gave them all a sheepish look. "I—I mean…What I meant to say is… Ehehe…. Uhm… Hey, where's _Ginny?_ Did any of you see her?!" Ron suddenly asked, his eyes darting around the nursery room in worry when he didn't see his sister.

Lorraine frowned at his question and followed his gaze, noting with a scowl that her brother was also missing. "Hmm…You're right. Even Anton isn't here…I wonder where those two went off to." She thought to herself, her eyes narrowing in suspicion when she looked up and met Hermione's.

The brunette sighed and shook her head, leaning over to brush back the strands of silver blonde hair from Garrett's forehead. "I don't know where they are either, Lorraine. Ginny was right behind me when we left the lobby." She offered and at this, Lorraine sighed heavily and stalked out of the room, muttering under her breath about searching for her 'libertine brother'.

Ron watched his wife leave for several minutes before he realized that the other Malfoys in the room were still glaring angrily at him. "Ehehe…Sorry about that little comment. I—I didn't mean it like that at all, I actually think Draco's quite…_cute…_too…" He winced when he heard his own words coming out of his mouth, oblivious to the way Byron and Blaise were sniggering at him.

Lucius raised an eyebrow at Ron's bizarre response, a sneer tugging on his lips as Narcissa deposited Gabriel into his arms. Peering at his grandson briefly, he flicked his silver eyes back up and narrowed them at Ron's embarrassed face. "I'll never understand you Weasleys…" He drawled out loud, causing Ron to wince again while the rest of the people in the room laughed.

Hermione giggled at this and took Garrett from Blaise's arms again, leaning down and cooing over the adorable blonde baby. "Honestly Ron, come here and take a look at them and you'll see why we're all so drawn in. They're really cute." She told him, beckoning him further into the nursery.

Ron grumbled but sighed and relented, walking through the maze of cribs over to where Hermione was holding Garrett in her arms. "Fine…But just to tell you, I was never good with babies. Even Francesca cried all the time when I held her back when she was born. I think it's a curse or something." He grumbled, wincing when Sirius grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"That's probably because you're still just a kid at heart, Ronnie-boy." He teased, causing Ron to glare at him and snap out in a loud voice. "I am _NOT _a kid, SIRIUS! Don't call me _RONNIE-BOY!_" He growled, cringing when everyone in the room glared at him and shushed him sharply to be quiet lest he wake up the other sleeping babies in the nursery.

Blaise smirked at him and shook his head. "Unless you want the rest of the babies screaming their heads at you, Weasley…I suggest you keep quiet." He pointed out, sniggering when Ron scowled at him but let his voice fall into a softer whisper anyway.

"Oh _shut up_, Zabini! It's not like _you're_ any more of a quiet person than I am." He taunted, rolling his eyes as Sirius leaned over Hermione's shoulder again so he could look into Garrett's face.

Frowning, the former Marauder looked up questioningly at Narcissa. "How can you tell which one of them is which? I mean… They look _exactly _alike, don't they? It's confusing!"

Narcissa answered him with an irritated glare. "What kind of silly question is that, Sirius?! I just _KNOW_, that's all! They're _MY _grandsons, why wouldn't I be able to tell them apart easily?" She huffed indignantly but Sirius merely scoffed at her words and smirked at her.

"Alright…If you're so good, then which one is Lucius holding right now, 'Cissa?"

The blonde woman colored slightly in embarrassment. "U—uhm… W—well…He's holding _Garrett _obviously! I'm positively certain of it—"

Sirius laughed loudly again and shook his head at her response. "_WRONG!_ He's holding _Gabriel. _Hermione is the one holding Garrett. See?! I _TOLD _you! Even _YOU _can't tell which twin is which!" He said out loud, wincing when he was shushed sharply again by Hermione and Regina.

"Sirius, _SHHHH!_ You might wake up the other babies!" Regina swatted his arm in irritation, causing her husband to sigh and nod sheepishly. Finally looking up from tickling Gabriel's stomach, Byron looked around the nursery room once before giving them a questioning glance.

"Any news about Harry, though? Is she okay? How did the delivery go?" He directed his question mostly to the other Malfoys, waiting until Genevieve answered him with a comforting smile. "She's just fine, love. I spoke to Draco about twenty minutes ago and he said she's resting in her hospital room. We should be able to visit her a little later." She assured him, much to Byron's relief.

Lawrence nodded and gave both his grandsons an appraising look. "She just delivered _two _Malfoy sons, Byron…As far as I'm concerned, she's allowed to do whatever she wants right now." He drawled, causing the other Malfoys to chuckle in agreement as they peered down at Gabriel again.

Looking up from Garrett's wide, green eyes, Hermione gave Ron an amused smile. "Do you want to hold him, Ron? I remember Harry talking about naming you as one of the twins' godfathers." She pointed out, indicating to the baby in her arms. At this, Ron paled slightly in nervousness.

"Lorraine hasn't really taught me how to handle baby _boys_ yet, Hermione. Is it any different from handling a _girl?_" He asked, earning a snort of derision from Blaise as he watched their interaction.

"Honestly Weasley, it's just a _baby._ You act as if you don't have a kid of your own" He retorted, rolling his eyes when Ron glared at him and gave him an angry scowl. "That's _different!_ My little daughter is the most beautiful, most _angelic _baby in the world!" He scoffed but Hermione simply rolled her eyes again and gently deposited Garrett into Ron's arms.

The redhead made a face at first as she did this, holding Garrett stiffly as though he was afraid the blonde baby was going to bite his head off. Sirius and Hermione both watched him with smirks on their faces, trying to keep themselves from laughing at the look on Ron's face.

"Ugh…He's drooling all over me now. Is it just _me _that feels uncomfortable with holding him like this? I mean, how do I even know which is which? Which twin do _I _have?" Ron looked up and glared at Hermione again, watching as she rolled her eyes at him and indicated to Garrett with a grin.

"He's the older twin – _Garrett._ _Gabriel_ is the twin with the tiny mole behind his left ear." She told him with a smug smile, causing both Ron _and _Blaise to roll their eyes at Hermione's self-satisfied smile. "Must you know _everything _about _anything_, Hermione?" Ron grumbled, wincing again when Garrett began to squirm more insistently in his arms.

Blaise was pretty much looking at his wife with the same expression of ire on his face but Hermione simply shrugged and leveled them both with a nonchalant smile. "I'm just keenly _observant_, Ronald. Not everyone is as oblivious to his surroundings as you are." She retorted, earning herself another indignant glare from her redheaded best friend.

While the rest of the Malfoys continued to fawn all over Gabriel several feet away, Ron finally relented and peered down closely at Garrett's squirming figure – raising an eyebrow when he was met with a pair of sleepy, emerald green eyes and short silver blonde locks of hair. The young Malfoy blinked up quietly at him, his tiny baby hands moving impatiently underneath the blankets.

"Hmm…So alright, maybe they _are _a little cute—" Garrett gurgled in his arms and squirmed impatiently, his tiny baby feet kicking gently at Ron's chest. "—in a weird, Malfoy-ish sort of way, I suppose… At least he got Harry's eyes. Those are cute too…Somewhat…" He mumbled, shifting the impatiently squirming baby in his arms again and trying to get him to hold still.

"Ugh…I just wish he would stop moving around and kicking so much though…It's kind of hard to hold him like this—" Ron winced and unknowingly jostled Garrett a few more times in his attempt to adjust to his squirming. Narcissa and Lucius looked up and glared cautiously at this while Regina winced beside Ron and tried to take Garrett from the former Gryffindor's hands.

"Ron, you have to be extra careful not to jostle him. He just fed several minutes ago—"

"Regina, it's fine. I can handle it! Carrying the little bugger just needs some getting used to—" Ron cut himself midsentence when Garrett winced briefly before whimpering and coughing up milky white baby vomit all over the front of Ron's shirt – immediately causing the redhead to exclaim in disgust and the rest of the adults around them to hide their smiles behind their hands.

"_EWWWWW! _That's just…_GROSS!"_

Garrett's emerald green eyes began to water instantly at the sound of Ron's loud, angry shout.

"Ron, _SHHHH! _You're not supposed to shout in the nursery room—"

Before any of them knew what was happening, Garrett clenched his eyes shut, opened his mouth and let out a terrible, high-pitched baby wail that echoed sharply in the silence of the nursery.

Once again, Ron was the unwilling recipient of several death glares from the other Malfoys around the room. He held up his hands in an 'I surrender pose' and gave them all an innocent look.

"I didn't do it—"

Unfortunately, Gabriel seemed to sense his twin brother's distress and he followed him immediately – opening his own mouth and crying as loud and as shrill as his baby lungs could manage.

Blaise and Hermione glared accusingly at Ron's sheepish face.

"Sorry! Ehehehe. It was an accident—"

One by one, the rest of the other sleeping infants in the nursery room of St. Mungo's awoke rudely to the sound of Garrett and Gabriel's shrill screams and began to cry as well – their baby wails joining in together into one excruciatingly loud, single mass of noise that began to eat at Ron's ears. Several panicked healers came bursting into the nursery room in a state of uproar, circling around the cribs and as they struggled to figure out how to stop the babies from crying.

Covering both his ears with his hands to drown out the sound, a flushed Ron Weasley looked up and offered a nervous smile at the horrible sneers he was receiving from Lucius and the rest of the Malfoys behind him – all of which were now circled around Genevieve as she swayed Gabriel in her arms from side to side in her efforts to get him to stop crying.

Sirius, Regina were circled around Garret cradled in Hermione's arms and were pretty much trying to do the same thing – wincing and hushing the crying baby gently to get him to calm down. In the midst of all this, Ron had ducked down behind the cribs and was trying to slip out of the nursery unseen – only to be stopped by Blaise placing a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think so, Weasley…You started this. You fix it. Make him stop crying!" He growled, hauling him back up to his feet and dragging him where Garrett was crying in Hermione's arms. Ron winced and tried to struggle free from Blaise's grasp. "Me?! I didn't do anything! He just started crying on his own!" He protested, looking down at Garrett's flushed, tear-streaked face.

The minute the blonde infant caught sight of Ron, however, he immediately stopped crying and blinked up curiously at him – a strange hint of what almost seemed like a _smirk_ tugging on his tiny, baby lips. Ron noticed this immediately and his eyes widened in absolute horror, pointing his finger frantically at Garret's face in indignant realization.

"I _KNEW _IT! He's smirking at me! Look, that baby is _SMIRKING _at me! I swear! Look at him!" Ron screeched out, causing more babies to cry around the nursery room again at his loud voice.

Hermione glared impatiently at him, tutting loudly in growing annoyance. "Ron, don't be ridiculous! Babies don't even know _HOW _to smirk yet! You're being completely nutters—"

"_I'M TELLING YOU! HE'S SMIRKING AT ME! THAT CHILD IS PURE EVIL, I TELL YOU! LOOK! HE'S TAUNTING ME! HE'S TAUNTING ME WITH THOSE CUTE LITTLE GREEN BABY EYES! I SWEAR TO MERLIN!" _Ron exploded, watching in horror as Garrett gurgled happily in Hermione's arms.

"Ron, what are you _TALKING _about?! _STOP _shouting, they're going to kick us out of here—"

"_WEASLEY!" _Byron had growled and pulled away from the rest of his family to stalk towards Ron's panicking form. He pulled the hysterical redhead back up onto his feet and grabbed the front of his robes, hoisting him up until their faces were mere inches apart.

"If you don't shut your trap right _NOW_, I'm going to admit you to the emergency ward! There are _DOZENS _of babies in here right now and in case you haven't noticed, they're all _CRYING _because of _YOU_!" He growled and at this, Ron finally fell silent and scowled. He sulked to himself as Byron let him back down onto his feet and walked back over to help his grandmother with hushing Gabriel.

Once the metamorphagus had gone, Ron's scowl deepened and he looked at Garrett again. His eyes grew wide with indignation when he saw that the blonde baby was staring and blinking right back at him, gurgling and squirming contentedly in Hermione's arms while the rest of the babies in the room – his twin brother included – continued to cry and wail in loud, shrill voices.

Ron grumbled darkly and glared at Garrett's bright green orbs, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You are _JUST _like your father aren't you…?"

Garrett blinked and answered him with another happy gurgle.

* * *

**A/N: **Heehee. Poor Ron. Payback's a bitch, huh? :P I hope you all liked the names I chose. It took me several days to think of possible names for them. The next chapter will be the last one before I go into the 2 year time lapse so keep a lookout mmkay? :D We're just about nearing half the story. :D

**Next Chapter: **A cute parenting D/H scene, Harry receives an important letter, and perhaps a little Byron/Vincent :D

**PLEASE REVIEW! CHEERS! **


	10. New Responsibilities

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: I am on a ROLL here! :D My grad classes will be kicking up with midterms and projects again in the next two weeks so I'm trying to write as much now while I still time. I really want to finish this story. ;) **I got kinda lazy to cut out the deleted scene so I've marked it instead. Just skip over it if it's not your thing**. Note that the events of this chapter happen about **THREE months** after the twins were born. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 10 – New Responsibilities **

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" _

Harry fisted her hair and banged her head against the wall of the Malfoy Manor nursery in frustration, turning back and flailing her hands at her two hysterically wailing twin sons in the crib. Garrett and Gabriel's flushed cheeks were streaked with tears and the two infants were practically screaming their lungs out – their shrill voices echoing around the room and killing their mother's ears.

"Aw _COME ON, _you two! Stop crying? Please? C—come on, M—mommy's getting a little tired here…Ehehe..O—okay? P—please stop?" Harry stammered helplessly, kneeling down right between their two cribs and trying to distribute her attention from one crying twin to the other.

"A—are you hungry? D—do you need a diaper change? What do you want? Why are you crying?!" She croaked out, feeling the ridiculous urge to cry herself as she pinched the bridge of her nose in thought. If anything, her efforts did nothing but make the twins cry even louder – unknowingly causing their mother to start banging her head repeatedly on the bars of Gabriel's crib.

"Aaaarghhh, you two! I just fed you! Burped you! Changed your diapers! Cleaned you! What more do you want? Do I look like I'm good at this mommy stuff to you?! Look at me! Do I look like I know what I'm doing?!" Harry groaned out loud to no one in particular, collapsing onto her back on the carpeted floor between their cribs.

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Oh _god…Wah _this! _Wah _that! My ears are positively _bleeding!_" Harry banged her head one last time against the carpet before forcing herself to jump back up onto her feet.

"Alright, alright! U—uhm…Let's see here… Aha! I got it! You guys want stuffed toys, right? Babies always want stuffed toys! Here!" She yanked her wand out of her robes and swished it in the air, summoning about a dozen stuffed animals into each of the twins' cribs. Garrett and Gabriel took one look at the stuffed toys around them, blinked, whimpered before turning back to their desperately smiling mother and simultaneously burst into tears again.

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Aaaaaaargh! Don't cry! Don't cry! Okay, okay! No stuffed toys then! Alright! Uhm…" Harry fumbled clumsily around the dozens of scattered toys around the nursery as she wracked her brain for a solution. "U—uhm! _HERE!_ I got it!" She swished her wand around again and transfigured two baby rattles made of diamond – waving it above the twins' faces.

"You Malfoys always like shiny, expensive stuff right? Gold? Diamonds? Anything else horribly overpriced? Here, look at this! Pretty isn't it? Preeeeetty…" Harry winced in anticipation and waved the rattles over their heads to get their attention but Garrett and Gabriel paid her no attention and continued to wail their lungs out at her in growing impatience.

"I didn't think so either. Ugh! Stop _CRYING, _you two! You've been crying for two _HOURS!_ Please?! Let Mommy get some rest, please?!" Harry's voice cracked and she waved the rattles away. She resorted to kneeling down in front of their cribs again, folding her hands together in a pleading pose and practically bowing to them in a gesture of surrender.

"_PLEASE,_ I'm begging you! I'm _DYING_ here! _PLEASE _calm down_!_" She whined in a voice almost as equally crying as her two sons, burying her face into her hands a minute later when all Garrett and Gabriel did to answer her was to wail even louder.

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Ugh…Merlin, help me…." Harry whimpered uselessly to herself as she smacked her face and covered her mouth with her hands in thought. Garrett and Gabriel looked slightly tired at this point and their cheeks were wet with tears but they still wouldn't let up – kicking and squirming uncomfortably in their separate baby cribs and coughing every now and then in exhaustion.

"Will you at least wait until your Father gets back home from the office, guys? I'm being double-teamed here! This isn't fair!" Harry wailed pathetically, flailing her arms out at them again. Gabriel seemed to let up for a minute and blinked tearfully at her with a soft baby whimper while Garrett kicked and screamed some more, his eyes clenched shut and his cheeks flushed dark red.

Within a couple of minutes, Garrett somehow coerced his brother into joining him again and Gabriel burst out into tears once more – their shrill voices all but making Harry want to tear her ears out in frustration. "Argh! Alright, maybe you guys want more milk or something? I don't know, let's see!" Harry grumbled miserably as she ran to fetch two bottles of milk, returning quickly and bending down towards Garrett's crib to offer it gently to his mouth.

The infant squirmed and fidgeted about in refusal, coughing the milk back up and spitting it right back into his mother's face. Harry froze in mild irritation, raising a towel and using it to wipe the white liquid off her face. "Brilliant…Thank you, Garrett…That's just _perfect_." She mumbled, sighing and trying to offer the other milk bottle to Gabriel instead.

Gabriel turned and just whimpered loudly the same way, kicking his legs against his mother's chest. Sighing, Harry set the bottle back down and took a couple of hurried steps backward – only to crash her ankles clumsily against the large toy chest behind her.

"Whoa, What's this— _MOTHER OF – LOOK OUT!_" She cursed and ended up stumbling – arse-first – into the large open toy chest, causing the toys inside to splatter all around until she eventually ended up buried in a mountain of baby building blocks and stuffed, magically moving animals.

"Ugh…" Harry winced irritably and pulled herself back up from the toy chest with great difficulty, wincing and rubbing at her behind in pain. "That's going to bruise…First time I have a mark on my arse that didn't come from your perverted Father."

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Kids! Did you not see that Mommy could have been seriously _INJURED_ back there?!"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Yeah, yeah…I _know!_ Malfoys always get what they want. Tsch! I just wish I knew what that _WAS!_" She wailed back helplessly, wincing again as she got up and began to run around the different scattered toys and materials around the nursery room in a growing state of panic.

"Alright, alright! Let's see here…" Harry ran over to the nearby closet and began pulling everything out of it at random, holding it up in the air so the twins could see what it was.

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"You want a story?! You want mommy to read you a story?! There's _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ right here! You want to hear all about your great Peverell ancestry—"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Ehehe…Alright, I guess not." She winced and held up another object – what appeared to be a collection of magically enchanted, toy dragons about the size of her palm.

"Okay, how about toy dragons then? You want to play with toy dragons, you two? They look awfully realistic—OW! _HOLY MERLIN, _that thing _BITES! _It's _DANGEROUS!_" Harry jumped to her feet and began running around the room in panic in pursuit of the tiny Hungarian Horntail toy that had escaped her fingers and was now flying around the room.

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

_"Aha!_ I caught it!" Harry grinned in triumph and shoved the Hungarian Horntail miniature back into its case. "No worries, kids! Mommy's got everything under control and no tiny toy dragon is going to hurt you! I can't believe your stupid Father bought those dangerous things—"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Ehrm….Ehehe…Right…" Harry raced back over to several more scattered toy chests and began rifling messily through them in search of something to calm the twins down.

"Teddy bears?"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Uhm…Golden snitch? Look how _shiny _and pretty it is—"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"_Cornish_ _pixie?_ Wow, it's so amazingly lifelike…Hey hold on a tick…_THAT'S NOT A TOY! _That thing's _REAL! _It was hiding in the chest—_WAAAH!_ _I TOUCHED IT! EW!"_ Harry jumped up from her seat in panic and began to chase the rogue pixie around the room again, jumping maniacally around and using a random pillow she had grabbed from somewhere to swipe at it in the air.

_"GET BACK HERE YOU EVIL PIXIE! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE NEAR MY SONS!"_

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"_IMMOBULUS!"_ Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the pixie froze suspended in mid-air just as it was nearing Gabriel's crib. With another flick of her wand, she sent the pixie out of the room through the open window, making sure to shut the drapes behind it.

"Right. That takes care of that…Now if I could just fix—"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"—right…_That _problem. Uhm…Let's see here…How about this—_ARGH!_" Harry yelped out loud as she accidentally tripped over another chest behind her, flailing her hands helplessly as she fell backwards into what seemed like a chest filled with numerous hats and toy props.

_"_I think your Grandparents bought you a tad bit too many toys…" Harry mumbled as she tried to stand back up, reaching up to remove the bright, colorful jester hat that had fallen onto her head. Before she could remove it, however, she froze in surprise when she realized the room was _silent_.

Slowly raising her head back up, her eyes widened when she saw that Garrett and Gabriel seemed to have stopped crying altogether and were staring intently at her from several feet away – their green eyes stained with tears but otherwise wide with avid interest as they stared at the colorful hat on her head.

Blinking back at them and slowly gathering her limbs from the mess of hats and toys around her, Harry slowly began to stand up – keeping her gaze carefully trained on the twins' wide, blinking eyes. As though sensing her confusion, Gabriel blinked at her and let out a soft, happy little gurgle, flailing his tiny hands out as though in amusement at his mother.

Garrett mirrored his brother's actions and gurgled at her the same way, his lips tugging into what almost seemed like a happy smile. Harry stared at them in amazement, her face frozen in an expression of incredulity and reluctant amusement. Shaking her head to herself, she chuckled and slowly reached down to pull a toy scepter from the toy chest behind her.

"Hmm…So…_This_ is what you two wanted. You just wanted Mommy to make a complete clown of herself for you, huh? You _are _your father's sons after all aren't you, you little Slytherin rascals?" She teased lightly, making several faces at them and eliciting more adorable sounds.

Garrett and Gabriel squirmed in response, their faces suddenly bright with happiness as they stared expectantly up at their mother's face with big green eyes. Their gazes lingered on the bright colored jester hat resting on her head and they smiled again, their tiny legs kicking excitedly.

Harry laughed at this, reaching back down into the chest to pull out another similar scepter for her other hand before she straightened back up and adjusted the jester hat carefully onto her head. "Alright then…You want a show? I'll give you a show. I'll have you know…That _I _happen to be a _very _good stage performer. I do a mean _tapdance!_" She hopped up into the air for emphasis, earning herself an adorable set of high-pitched giggles from her watching sons.

She couldn't help smiling to herself at the incredibly beautiful sound of their laughter, shaking her head as she took several steps closer and stood in directly in front of their cribs. "And now…I shall regale you both with a _talented_ and _expert _display of my utterly detestable dancing skills!" She exclaimed in a dramatic voice, pausing to take a deep bow before them.

When she stood back up, she was wearing a bright red clown nose on her face and she was grinning widely – causing even more gurgles and giggles from her twin sons as they watched her. Holding back her own laughter, she steadied herself and began hopping around in what she hoped was a kind of movement that was somewhat _reminiscent _of a tapdance – all the while twirling both toy scepters around her fingers and tossing them up over her head.

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts! Hoggy warty Hogwarts! Teach us something, pleeeaaase!" _She hopped up on one foot and twirled around with her scepters raised dramatically; nearly tripping over herself had she not jumped back up and accidentally knocked into a nearby table.

Garrett gurgled happily while Gabriel giggled, their eyes wide with wonder as they watched their mother make a complete fool out of herself. _"Whether we be old and bald…_" Harry paused and scrunched up her face, pretending to use the scepters as canes. "_Or young with scabby knees!_" She took several hops again and twirled around once more before falling to her knees.

Grinning, she jumped back up and tap-danced a couple more times. "_Our heads could do some filling—" _She used one of the scepters and pretended to knock herself on the head. "—_with some interesting stuff…_" Taking several steps backwards, she was just about to hop up onto the nearby table behind her when she bumped into something rather solid – and shaking with pent up _laughter._

_"For now they're bare and full of air…" _

Harry froze immediately at the sound of the familiar, incredibly amused drawling voice, her cheeks flushing dark red with horror and mortification.

_"Dead flies and bits of fluff…_Did I get the lyrics right, Potter?_"_

Turning around _very _slowly, the toy scepters Harry held slipped listlessly from her hands to clang loudly onto the floor but she didn't hear them. Instead, she forced her beet red, cringing face into a half-cringe, half-smile at the figure of her husband behind her, who was still decked out in his corporate attire and was watching her blankly from where he stood near the nursery entrance.

A roguish, handsome smirk was on Draco's face as he watched Harry's expression shift from shock to utter humiliation, her pale cheeks flushing almost as red as the color of her shirt. She bit her lip and managed a helpless smile, failing to realize the bright red nose she was still wearing.

"I—I was just…Playing with the…Ehehe…H—how long have you been standing there?"

Draco arched a single eyebrow and smirked wider, his silver eyes twinkling with mirth as he crossed his arms smugly over his chest. He leaned one shoulder against the doorframe again and crossed one of his ankles lazily behind the other.

"Not that long…Say uhm…Potter…? I've been thinking…Those…_tap-dancing skills…_" The corners of Draco's lips quirked upwards as he tried to restrain a smile. "Was that the reason you – as you personally mentioned – managed to hook up with _twice_ as many women as Weasley did? Or were you simply just practicing for a solo rendition of '_Hogwarts, a Musical'?_"

Harry's cheeks colored even more, if possible, and she glared meekly at her smirking husband.

"Why you slimy, conceited, arrogant brat—"

Draco held up a hand to cut her off, unable to wipe the smirk off his face as he gestured nonchalantly to the bright red clown nose on her face.

"Oh by the way, Potter…You...You have a little something on your…_face_…" Draco's restraint broke down at this point and he emitted a choked-up sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

Harry's eyes widened in embarrassment as she reached up and hastily yanked the red nose off.

"I—I was just…I was trying to get the twins to stop crying, I—"

Draco arched an eyebrow again, smiling smugly at her as he waited for her attempt at an explanation. When she couldn't seem to be able to do anything stutter at him, she turned to her curiously watching twin sons instead and gave them a helpless, sheepish grin.

"…And _THIS_, my dear Garrett and Gabriel, is where I exit…_STAGE RIGHT."_

With that, a thoroughly embarrassed Harry Potter ducked her head behind her hand and bolted out of the room amidst the sounds of Draco's amused, heartfelt laughter.

* * *

Byron sighed and massaged his knuckles in exasperation when he heard Anton and Louis' arguing voices as he walked by the Malfoy Manor dining room that morning. It was a custom in the Malfoy family that though they lived in scattered estates all around Europe, each Malfoy son was required to sleep at least _three _nights a week in Malfoy Manor – the center estate of the entire clan.

It seemed that it just so happened to be _his _luck that week that the day he had chosen to stay in Malfoy Manor was the exact same day that Anton announced his little surprise to the family – his sudden and impending engagement to none other than Miss Ginevra Weasley.

Needless to say, Louis was not at all pleased with this little piece of information. The older Malfoy had nearly fainted when Anton had told him of his engagement and this was followed by Draco practically exploding and banging his head repeatedly on the dining table in frustration while screaming at the top of his lungs "NOT ANOTHER WEASLEY! NOT ANOTHER WEASLEY!"

Not really one for familial theatrics at this point, Byron had managed to slip away from the room without being noticed and Harry had followed soon after – if only to confirm the announcement with Ginny herself. After saying goodbye to each other, he and the Malfoy Mistress had parted ways and soon enough, he was walking to the nearby apparition rooms so he could head off to work.

_Next time, I'm going to plan my routine visits to the Manor so that I'm sure Anton isn't here._ He thought irritably to himself, sighing in frustration as he ran a hand through his dark hair and finally stepped into the apparition point. One second and a single pop of apparition later, he found himself making his way through the crowd of arriving officials in the Ministry lobby.

After waving and nodding to several of his friends and acquaintances, he rode the elevator up to the Department of Unspeakables and finally entered through the office entrance, pausing and looking around in confusion when he noticed that the other Unspeakable agents looked a bit fidgety.

Quirking his lips into an amused grin, he walked over to Lydia_,_ Ashford's personal secretary, and asked her in a cajoling tone of voice. "Hey…What's with everyone? They all look like they've committed a serious crime or something." He kidded, raising an eyebrow as he took in Lydia's cringe.

The 30-year-old secretary shook her head and gestured discreetly to Vincent Ashford's office several rooms away. "They're all concerned about Ashford…He came in acting rather _drunk _this morning and now he's making a complete mess of his paperwork in his office. He's not getting any work done at all." She whispered in a low voice, causing Byron's eyebrows to hike up in shock.

Blinking, he turned his gaze hastily to the Head Unspeakable's office and sure enough, Vincent Ashford was holding up a stack of papers to his face and was looking at it as though it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, his blue eyes looking disoriented and hazy.

"Merlin's beard…" Byron muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he nodded his gratitude to Lydia and began to head over to the Head office. He was a couple of feet away from the door when a firm hand reached out and held him back by his arm, turning him around so that he was looking into Spencer Addison's handsome, grinning face.

"Byron! I was just thinking about you! How's Harry? When is she coming back to work?" He asked cheerfully, his hazel eyes peering intently into the other Unspeakable's golden brown orbs but Byron just gave him a distracted smile, his gaze flicking over his shoulder.

"Good morning, Spence. I reckon Harry should be coming back to work after a couple more weeks. Give or take." He answered hastily and he was just about to walk off when Spencer spoke up again, directing Byron's attention to the uncertain look on his face.

"That's great! I was really starting to miss her around here. Anyway, that wasn't actually why I wanted to talk to you…Uhm. I was wondering…You know _The Weird Sisters? _They're actually going to be doing a concert in London next week and I was kind of hoping that—"

Byron cut Spencer off sharply by giving him an impatient nod and smile. "Spencer, this really isn't a good time right now for me to talk. Can you bring this up again later? I need to speak with Ashford about something really important." He interrupted, failing to see the disappointed look in Spencer's face as his flicked his eyes back over to Ashford's office.

Flushing slightly in embarrassment, Spencer forced out a laugh to hide his reaction and nodded, offering Byron a crooked smile. "O—of course, Byron…I'll ask you again later when you're free." He looked a little put out when Byron merely gave him another distracted nod and smile.

"Great. I'll talk to you later then." He didn't wait for Spencer's to answer as he walked on ahead and finally pushed through the doors of the Head Unspeakable's office, wincing when he was met with Vincent's dazed blue eyes blinking up dazedly at him from where he sat behind his desk.

"Ma—Malfoy?" He slurred drunkenly, blinking a couple of times as he looked up and tried to make out Byron's exasperated features. "Ishat you…? Why're you so blurry and shaky like that?" He drawled, setting the papers in his hand down as Byron sighed and walked into the office.

He walked right up to Vincent's desk and offered the other man his hand. "Sir…It's nine in the morning and you're drunk as a codger…Come on, I'm going to bring you down to the infirmary so that they can give you a potion to get you sober." He offered, reaching out to him again but Vincent growled and shoved him away, nearly stumbling from his seat at the effort.

"Goway! I dowanna get sober! I'm fine…Jusht get back to work!" He slurred again, pushing Byron's offered hands away and trying to reach for the remaining folders on his desk. "I'm not drunk, shee?! I'm working right now! I'm trying to get shome work done! Shtop bothering me!" He snapped, the folders slipping from his hand and scattering all over the floor behind his desk.

Byron sighed again and took a step back, shaking his head as he watched Vincent stand up and struggle to pick the papers back up off the floor. "H—hold on a tick…Shtupid shlippery papers…Who makes theesh stupid reports neway? Why do I have to read them all? S'boring!" He blurted out, oblivious to the smile on Byron's face as he took several steps toward him.

"We do, sir…We make those reports because you ask us to. Personally, I wouldn't mind not making them anymore too." He quipped, slowly walking over to where the drunken man was huddled and crouching down so he could help him pick the papers back up.

Sensing his presence, Vincent gave another impatient growl and attempted to shove Byron away. "I shaid _GOWAY MALFOY! _I don't need your help! I'm the department of this Head and I know what I'm doing! I'm bloody _brilliant!_" He tried to shove Byron away again but unfortunately, his motor senses weren't working that well and he ended up sprawled on the floor instead.

Byron couldn't prevent the smirk on his lips as he reached down and offered the other man a hand. "I _know_ you're brilliant as the 'department of this Head' sir…I see it everyday when I watch you fight. I just…don't think that you're any more brilliant than the rest of us here are when you're drunk and falling all over yourself like this." He retorted with a wry smile, muffling a laugh when Vincent shoved his hands away and scowled childishly up at him.

"I told you! I'm not drunk! I'm jusht…_tipshy, _is all! Watch! I can get up!" He tried to prove his point by raising himself up to a sitting position from the floor.

_THUNK!_

Byron cringed to himself at the sound of Vincent's head bumping very painfully against the front edge of his table, shaking his head and smirking again and the older man fell back down onto the floor and stared up at the ceiling with a disoriented grimace of pain on his face.

"Hmm….S'alright…Maybe I am a _little _drunk…" He finally grumbled out, scowling childishly again as Byron hid another smirk and began to gather the scattered papers from the floor. "I won't tell anyone about this, sir…Don't worry. Just let me get you down to the infirmary." He promised, looking down in mild surprise when he saw the way Vincent was looking at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"B—But…Ain't I allowed to be drunk…Once in awhile? You…Malfoy…D'you…D'you shometimes jush wanna…disappear from it all? Make it all just…go away? All the pressure…All the pain…?" His blue eyes blinked up blearily at Byron, an expression of weariness in them that he had never seen before.

"I—I'm not sure what you mean, sir—"

Vincent raised a hand and massaged the bridge of his nose in exhaustion, sighing and blinking back at the ceiling of his office. "Jussht…Get away from everything…? You know…" He laughed harshly and shook his head, a harsh sneer making its way onto his face. "A—all m'life…I've been…_hailed…_as the only successful pureblood son in my family…" He scoffed and covered his face with his hand.

"I won all those bloody awardsh…all those shhtupid medalsh… D'you know how hard it ish to be the _only _son of a traditional pureblood family…?!" He snapped out loud, causing Byron to wince but nod slowly to himself in quiet understanding. "I think I may have an idea of what you mean, sir…" He responded softly, watching as Vincent shook his head and let out an exasperated grunt.

"_..._I wasssh my father'smosht treasured child…He shpoke all the time of how p—proud he wasssh and how I washh going to be family head one day…I wanted to be…y'know?"

He hiccupped and when Byron reached out and offered a hand again to help him up, Vincent surprised him by grabbing it and yanking him down – causing the metamorphagus to meep when he ended up sprawled over Vincent's larger frame, their faces mere inches apart.

"S—sir, I—"

Vincent continued to speak drunkenly as though nothing had happened.

"And then…One day…He finds out I'm gay and ish like…'You're a disgrace, Vincent! How can you be queer?! You need to provide an heir for thish family! Ish your reshponshibility! You will marry a _woman_!'" The Head Unspeakable laughed harshly, shaking his head at the memory.

Byron bit his lip, unsure of what to say to him and more concentrated on the fact that he body was right on top of his boss' lean, muscular frame. _Get your mind out of the gutter, Malfoy! This isn't the right time to think about that!_ He scolded himself, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

Vincent didn't seem to notice his dilemma and drawled on further.

"I rebelled, o'course…Ran away from home…Went to Unspeakable training…Became the bessht darn Unspeakable agent there was…" He stopped and sighed, looking incredibly worn out. "…And then…What do you know…ten years later…He comes back…knocking on my door…begging me to come back to the family." He snorted in disgust, oblivious to the way Byron's eyes had widened in shock.

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir. Did you talk to him?"

Vincent shook his head, sneering harshly. "He's a shtupid, sshelf-centered old man! I hate his guts! Told him I'm never going to marry a woman! Shlammed the door in his face!" He began laughing to himself after he said this, finally looking up and meeting Byron's soft, sympathetic eyes.

"O'course in the end…Shtill _me _who's the loser, huh…? I like men but I can't even hold onto a worthwhile relationship with one…Ish no different than dating women…Nothing worksh!" He slurred, hiccupping again and blinking rapidly to refocus his vision when it began to blur.

"Just got back from a meeting with Severus…Another failed relationship…Heh…What else is new? Behind all those bloody awards, shtupid titles and distinctions…Shtill alone…I really am just a shorry little loser…" He drawled, finally looking back up directly into Byron's wide eyes and noticing for the first time how close their faces actually were.

Byron stiffened instantly when their eyes met, blood rushing into his pale cheeks. Vincent blinked at him for several minutes, his handsome features creased into a thoughtful frown. The Head Unspeakable looked as though he had just realized the fact that Byron was inadvertently pinning him to the floor behind his table and that they were looking up directly into each other's wide eyes.

Gulping, Byron's nervous gaze flicked involuntarily to Vincent's lips – noting with a delightful shudder that their bodies were so close together that he could smell the tingly scent of the cologne emanating from the other man's robes. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of silence, the corner of Vincent's lips finally quirked upwards into a small but genuine grin.

Reaching a hand up, he traced a finger lightly down the smaller man's pale cheek. "You know…If I've never said it before, Malfoy…You make me feel very uneasy…I think I've grown a tad bit more fond of you than I'd like…" He murmured dazedly, his blue eyes roaming over Byron's face.

At his words, Byron managed a teasing grin and gave a short laugh. "I'm glad to hear that, sir…It's always nice to hear that your boss likes you. That's always a good thing." He kidded nervously, wincing to himself when he heard the sheer idiocy of his own words.

Vincent didn't seem to mind, however, and just grinned again, his sharp blue eyes softening for the briefest second as he cupped a hand over Byron's cheek. "_That's _probablywhy. You act like such a _fool _sometimes…Like a kid…It's…quite _endearing_." He mused to no one in particular, watching as Byron colored again and tried to cover his embarrassment by trying to pull away.

"I—I hardly act like that on purpose. I just feel so foolish around you—" He stopped talking altogether when Vincent had leaned in and finally caught his lips in a deep, searing kiss, the hand he had on Byron's cheek curling backwards to wrap around his neck and pull him back down against him.

All coherent thoughts and formed protests forgotten, Byron's eyes widened in shock before they immediately fluttered closed as he leaned in and wrapped his arms around the other man's neck. He heard a brief sound of what sounded like the door opening but he paid no attention, completely unaware of the figure that had entered Vincent's office and was now making his way behind his desk.

"Sir…? Are you in here? I've got those reports you wanted me to finish so I'll just leave them on your de—"

The last of Spencer's sentence died on his lips when he caught sight of the two passionately entangled figures on the floor behind the table. He stood there for several seconds – shocked into stillness and unable to do anything else except stare at the two men with a frown marring his features.

Before either Byron or Vincent could notice him, Spencer sighed heavily, dropped the reports in his hand down onto the table and stalked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

* * *

_Ugh…So tired… So sleepy…Who knew taking care of children was this hard…? I wonder how other parents manage. _Harry thought to herself as she slipped off her bathrobe and stepped into the shower that night, closing her eyes as the cold water trailed soothingly down her smooth, pale skin.

She reached up above her nape to unclasp the tie around her hair, sighing wearily as the long, black strands cascaded gracefully down her back. As much as she knew Draco liked her hair long, she had tried numerous times to cut it short – only to scream in frustration the very next morning when she saw that her hair grew stubbornly back to its original length as though refusing to be cut.

_ Ugh. I had the same problem when I was a boy. My hair is just as stubborn as I am._

Rolling her eyes to herself, she began to shampoo her hair into a rich, strawberry-scented lather – pausing every now and then to rinse out the occasional suds that got into her eyes. Setting the shampoo bottle back down, she hummed softly and began to wash herself with soap – closing her eyes in relaxation as the water rinsed itself over her exhausted body.

_Hmm…I miss work. I wonder if Ashford has any new assignments for me yet…_She thought idly to herself, her green eyes glazing over slightly in deep thought. _I wonder how I'm going to balance it all…Wife…Mother…Unspeakable…Ugh. Being a woman just makes it all so complicated._ She sighed and shook her head, setting the soap back down onto the shower shelves.

It wasn't that she didn't know what her responsibilities were now. She knew them perfectly well. It wasn't that she didn't like being a mother either – she loved Garrett and Gabriel so much that it scared her, but that wasn't the problem. Her job had always eaten up a lot of her time with Draco. If anything, she had learned that well during the first year of their marriage. She just hoped she wouldn't have to make similar sacrifices in the future when it came to her children.

_I've never had a mother 'or' a father…How am I so sure I'm not going to screw this up? _Harry closed her eyes and buried her face into her hands, letting out a deep, heavy sigh. Then, taking another calming breath, she shook her head and gave herself a mental kick to the head.

_I'm not alone in this…Draco's sure to know more about this parenting stuff than I do…I'm sure we'll manage and help each other out. _Harry assured herself, nodding in self-assurance. Ironically enough, just as she was about to rinse out the bubbles in her hair, she heard the shower doors slide open behind her – causing her to roll her eyes to herself and smile in mild amusement.

_"_You are _such _a pervert, Draco…"

Sure enough, she was answered by a low chuckle followed by a strong hand wrapping itself languidly around her waist from behind. Her husband leaned down and pressed his lips very heatedly along the curve of her neck, causing her to close her eyes in pleasure and lean back against him.

"Mmmhmm… I can't help it…It's been awhile since I laid eyes on this gorgeous, perfect, utterly _shaggable_ body…" Draco drawled teasingly against her ear, eliciting more delightful shivers from his wife as his hands began to wander lingeringly around the different curves of her body.

Harry rolled her eyes to herself, leaning her head back against his shoulder as his hands continued to re-explore her body with slow, possessive movements. "Where are the twins? Are they asleep?" She asked idly, biting back a moan when his reached up and began to massage her breasts.

Draco bit down hard on the skin of her shoulder, smirking to himself in satisfaction when he pulled away to inspect the blatant red mark.

"They're in the nursery…I checked up on them about fifteen minutes ago and they were still fast asleep. It should be a couple more hours before they wake up again. We have time…Don't worry." He whispered suggestively, using his free hand to pull her closer against him, silently marveling at the way the curvature of her slender body seemed to fit so perfectly against his own lean frame.

She seemed to have the same thought and chuckled softly, tilting her head obediently to the side to allow him better access to her neck. "You love doing that, don't you?" She mused out loud, causing Draco to grin again as he began to bite and lick along her pulse point.

"I like the fact that your body complements mine so perfectly. It just makes it all the more satisfying when I shove myself in you as deep as possible." He hissed into her ear, causing her cheeks to flush and her entire body to heat up despite the cold water running down their naked bodies.

She tried to move away from him when she heard the lust in his voice but Draco's arms tightened around her, keeping her trapped firmly against him.

"Draco, the twins—"

"_Won't_ wake up for another two to three hours. I _told _you, Harry…You weren't listening, were you...?" Draco interrupted her lazily, leaning down and biting hard on her neck again.

When she felt his arousal pressing behind her, her cheeks darkened even more and she tried to move away again – only to have one of Draco's hands tighten painfully around her arm and another wrapping itself securely around her waist to keep her in place. She could almost hear the sneer in his voice when he moved his hand down and began to trail it teasingly along her inner thigh.

"You know you like it too, Potter…Don't you…? Me taking you hard and rough…Your legs wrapped around my waist while I pound you senseless…Making you scream until your throat is sore…" His voice trailed off again and Harry resisted the urge to shiver, closing her eyes tightly when she felt the similar feelings of intense arousal exploding in the wetness that was growing between her legs.

Draco sensed her reaction to his words immediately and smirked, teasing her relentlessly by trailing his fingers along the skin of her inner thigh. He could already feel her body melting against him and the way her breaths were coming in shallow pants but still he held himself back.

He reached up and pulled her long hair up with a single hand – exposing her pale, slender nape. With a low growl, he leaned down and began to lick a slow, lazy trail along the sensitive area – sending goosebumps racing all over her trembling body.

Harry closed her eyes and let out a soft gasp, reaching a hand backwards and wrapping it around his neck to pull him down closer against her. "Mmm…_Draco…_Please…" She whispered softly, her voice heavy with lust as she pressed herself back teasingly against him in impatience.

* * *

_***START OF RATED SCENE***_

She felt his body respond immediately to her ministrations – his arousal hardening and pressing itself insistently against her while his other hand tightened painfully around her waist, yanking her against him. She winced when he used the hand he had grasped through her hair to yank her head backwards, eliciting a soft cry of pain from her lips.

He used that leverage to lean down and hiss something dangerously into her ear, his voice a low, lust-darkened growl. "Don't you _dare_ tease me, Potter…Don't you _dare!_" He followed this up by yanking on her hair again, pulling her head back so he could ravage her lips with a hard, bruising kiss.

His other hand crawled right up her thighs and forced its way between her legs, eliciting what would have been a sharp cry from Harry again had the sound not been muffled by Draco's lips pressed firmly against hers. The hand entangled in her hair loosened and climbed down to cup her breast just as about two of his fingers slipped themselves insistently into her in impatience.

_"Oh god…" _She broke away from his lips to gasp out loud again, moaning in pleasure when he added a third finger and began stroking her pleasure spot mercilessly. Draco smirked and reveled in the sounds this drew from her, pressing himself closer so that she was fully aware of his hard length.

When she moaned his name out in an aching whisper, Draco relented and turned her around impatiently to face him before smirking and shoving her impatiently against the wall. Harry was accustomed to his roughness by now and didn't protest, wincing only when her back crashed against the cold tiles and Draco pinned her hands down painfully with only one of his own.

She held back another whimper when he leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth, licking, biting and sucking hungrily. He pulled away after several moments and glanced back up so she could see his wicked leer and the way he was licking his lips, a malicious gleam in his eyes.

"Mmmm…That's the best milk I've ever tasted…" His smirk widened at the horrified blush that rushed into her cheeks and before she knew what was happening, he was sucking at her breast again, his other hand reaching down and clamping tightly on her arse, yanking her body against his.

_"Oh god, Draco!" _

The hand he had used to trap hers loosened and he brought it down hard on her bottom, the loud 'smacking sound' ringing clearly in Harry's ears. She stiffened and glared up at him in indignation. He met her look with a teasing grin before chuckling and lean down to whisper in her ear.

"How do you want me to take you, Harry…?" He whispered heatedly, licking the shell of her ear. This time, Jaimee was unable to hide the shivers that began to plague her entire body. He growled and began grinding himself against her, his hands moving down to cup her arse tightly.

She moaned and gasped at this, reaching her arms up and wrapping them around his neck. Her eyes clenched shut when he leaned down and began to suck at her breasts again, his tongue expertly teasing her nipples until she was positively crazy with the need to feel him deep inside her.

"Please…Oh god, don't stop…I want you…" She whispered achingly, finally allowing him to wrap her legs around his waist, clinging tightly onto his strong shoulders for support. He pressed her tighter against the tiled wall for added leverage, his hands supporting her by gripping her bottom.

Draco answered her with another self-satisfied smirk, leaning in and smashing their lips together in a hard, bruising kiss. "_How…?_ How do you want me, Potter? I want you to _tell _me how I should take you…_TELL ME._" He hissed sharply when he pulled away, freeing one hand to grip her chin and force her face up to look intently at him.

She winced at his bruising grip but met his steely gray eyes, her breathing coming in deep, ragged pants. She knew _exactly _what her husband wanted to hear and she was happy to oblige him.

"_Hard _and _rough, _Malfoy…I want you to pound me so hard that I'll be moaning your name like a bloody prayer. Take me…Make me _scream_." She hissed back in the same harsh voice, her eyes narrowing in challenge at him and smirking when he glared right back and sneered.

It was only a second later that her smirk faded and transformed into a pained wince when Draco growled again and did exactly what she wanted – he slammed her hard against the wall and shoved himself hard into her in a single, brutal thrust – their bodies merging perfectly as one form.

_"DRACO!" _She shut her eyes tightly and dug her nails into his back, moaning loudly when Draco slammed into her again, a feral growl erupting from his throat and his eyes hard with a lust-heightened, animalistic hunger that seemed to darken the silver orbs into a near-black shade.

His hands tightened around her arse until she could feel the bruises beginning to form but she didn't care, her eyes closed in pleasure and her lips half-open in a silent scream. She heard his harsh grunts of exertion against her ear as he thrust into her a few more times – hitting her sweet spot each time and pressing her body against the wall over and over again.

Wincing again and again in a mixture of pain and pleasure, she reached a hand blindly to grip at the nearest thing beside her for support. Unfortunately, this was the shower rack of soap and shampoo bottles and at her fumbling, desperately clawing hands, the rack was dislodged easily and crashed noisily onto the floor – shampoo, conditioner and all kinds of soap scattering around them.

Draco ignored this and caught her stray, roaming hand with his, intertwining their fingers together and pinning it down on the wall above her head before leaning down to lavish attention on her breasts again. She felt him smirking again, his hands tightening painfully around her.

"Mmmm…Milk…_Delicious…_" He ignored her embarrassment and continued to thrust into her slender body for several more times, hissing when she began to claw and scratch at his back.

He leaned up from her breasts and caught her lips in another passionate kiss – sliding his tongue expertly into her mouth and initiating a fierce battle with hers. While she was caught up in their kiss, he used that time to pull her off the wall – her legs still wrapped around his waist and his hands still supporting her – and carried her out of the shower.

Their bodies were still joined tightly together when he managed to somehow stumble them out of the bathroom and into their large master bedroom, their forms dripping beads of water and suds of soap all over the carpeted floor. He broke their kiss and deposited her unceremoniously on the bed, turning her over roughly so that she was lying on her stomach.

"On your knees…" He hissed, positioning himself on his knees behind her so that his form was draped over her body and that his length was pressing into her wet entrance from behind. "I couldn't do my favorite position while you were pregnant, Potter. I've quite missed it." He drawled into her ear, waiting until she did exactly what he said before he shoved her back down against the sheets.

"Figures…I'll bet you're glad the pregnancy is over now since you can top me again—_OH GOOD GOD! DRACO!_" The rest of her sentence ended up as a loud, breathless scream when her husband shoved himself into her aching wetness again, his hands going down to grip her hips for support.

"_DOWN!" _He snapped impatiently and he reached down to position her so that only her head was nestled against the pillows and the rest of her body was raised and stretched out in a kneeling position before him. Once she had done his, he began to thrust hard and fast into her again from behind, using his grip on her hips to yank her back in time with his movements.

She bit hard on her lip until she tasted blood and clenched her eyes shut, her moans increasing in volume when her husband's thrusts picked up and he began pounding relentlessly into her body, slamming himself into her again and again until she felt the soreness between her legs.

"_DRACO! PLEASE…OH GOD!" _She clutched desperately at the blankets around her and just as Draco gave another rough thrust into her, her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and her vision exploded into a sea of blissful stars and blackness. A scream of pleasure tore itself from her throat as she finally came and she buried her head into the pillows, trying to muffle the loud sound.

Draco hissed when he felt her tighten around him, her body shivering violently in the heat of her climax. When she began to feel limp, he wrapped his arms around her to keep her up, summoning the last of his remaining strength as he began pummeling into her like a crazed animal.

His arms tightened around her when he felt her starting to shiver again as she began to build to another violent explosion. Just as he was ready to let himself go, he leaned down so that his chest was draped protectively over her back and placed a soft, loving kiss onto her nape.

"I love you, Harry…" He whispered, his voice harsh from his impending climax but she heard him perfectly. She turned her head slightly in her position so she could press their cheeks together.

"I love you too, 'Co…" She nuzzled his cheek again and closed her eyes when he resumed his efforts and began to thrust hard into her again. "I love it when we're joined deep like this…Love it when you're in me…Thrusting hard and rough…Taking me…Making me yours…Loving me…"

Draco's eyes clenched shut and a whimper escaped his lips at her words, his hands tightening desperately around her. He continued to listen to the softly whispered words that were bringing him closer to the edge much faster than any further acts of physical stimulation could.

"...I love the way you take me with such passion…The way you take me which that arrogant certainty that you know I'm yours completely…And I am, Draco…You know I'm yours…" She stopped when another involuntary moan escaped her lips – her body just on the brink of her second climax.

"H—Harry…D—don't stop…Keep t—telling me…Please…"

Draco bit his lip; his eyes darkened three shades of lust at this point to a blackened gray. He finally clenched them shut and reached down to intertwine his fingers with her hand on the bed.

"I love you…I love you…I love you…" She said this in time with his thrusts, her voice growing softer and shakier each time almost as much as Draco's efforts grew more desperate with each breath.

"I love you…I love you…I love you…I love you…_I LOVE YOU!_" She clenched her eyes shut again and just as Draco grunted and gave one last deep thrust into her, they both came violently – a high-pitched scream erupting from Jaimee's throat and a strangled, weakened whimper escaping her husband as he collapsed on top of her and spilled himself into the body of the woman he loved.

_***END OF RATED SCENE***_

* * *

"You think Anton is serious with Ginny?" Harry asked worriedly, turning her head slightly to the side to address Draco. The former Slytherin gave an irritated scoff in response and wrapped his arms tighter around her bare waist, curling himself around her so that his body was spooning hers comfortably underneath the white, silk blankets of their bed.

"How should _I _know, Potter? If we're lucky, Grandfather will be able to knock some sense into him and hopefully talk him out of marrying another Weasley. Ugh. They're coming over to the Manor tomorrow to discuss matters with Uncle Louis. I can't wait." He grumbled angrily, scowling further when Harry just rolled her eyes and nudged him sharply in annoyance.

"Don't talk about the Weasleys like that, Draco…They're one of the nicest families I've ever met. Besides, Ginny is a good match for Anton. She's feisty and has fierce spirit." Harry mused out loud with a smirk, causing Draco to roll his eyes again and tighten his arms around her waist.

"I wouldn't know, Harry. I never dated that chit like you did…I never even _considered_ it. On that note…You know, I _never_ quite understood your taste in women back in school." He chuckled to himself at the memory, earning another sharp nudge from Harry as she growled in irritation.

"Oh yeah? Well the girls _I _dated were much better than all those snobby, prissy little sluts you used to have hanging all over your arm all the time. Disgusting." She mocked with a scowl and hearing her words, Draco sniggered and poked her teasingly in the ribs.

"No need to be jealous, love…You know I'm all yours now." He drawled arrogantly and Harry would have snapped back something sarcastic at him had his words not brought a smile to her face.

"Prick."

"You know you love me."

She opened her mouth to confirm exactly this when a familiar sound suddenly rang out from the adjoining nursery in their bedroom, causing both Draco and Harry to grimace when the loud, wailing cries of Garrett and Gabriel's combined shrill voices began to fill the comforting silence.

Groaning, Harry ignored Draco's amused smirk and sighed in exhaustion, dropping her head down limply onto her pillow. She got up about half second later and was just about to stand up from the bed when Draco beat her to it, indicating for her to still with a small, reassuring grin.

"I'll get this, Harry…Get some rest." He told her, leaning over and dropping a kiss onto her cheek. Harry's eyebrows fused together and she watched him uncertainly as he began slipping on a pair of black pajama pants. "Are you sure, 'Co? It's really okay, I can help you with them—"

Draco shook his head and silenced the rest of her protests with a brief, chaste kiss. When he pulled back, he gave her a teasing wink and ran a hand through his slightly disheveled blonde hair. "I reckon you're a bit tired after your little Broadway performance awhile ago, Potter. Get some rest." He smirked at the irritated though highly embarrassed glare she gave him.

"Shut up, Malfoy." She grumbled, scowling at him as he gave her one last charming smile before exiting the room and heading towards the nursery. Smiling to herself anyway, she was just about to snuggle back underneath the covers when something from the window caught her eye.

Glancing up, she blinked in surprise at the familiar sight of Vincent Ashford's handsome, black eagle owl tapping its beak impatiently against the glass window panes. Sighing, Harry reluctantly got up and wrapped one of the silk sheets around her bare form, tying it securely around herself as she walked over to the window to let the owl into the room.

_Great…I wonder what Ashford wants this time. I'm still on leave, he can't possibly give me any assignments right now._ She wondered idly to herself, untying the strip of parchment from the eagle owl's leg. Reaching over to the nearby drawer, she handed the proud animal a rather large owl treat. After accepting it gratefully, he gave one last hoot before flying back into the night.

Once the owl had disappeared into the sky, Harry walked back carefully to the bed and sat down on the edge, carefully unfolding the letter in her hand and reading through Ashford's neat, carefully drafted letter in stunned silence.

_Addressed to: HJ Potter, _

_I'll try to be as honest and direct to the point as I can with this letter. As you probably know by now, I'm not really the kind of person who's used to dealing with compliments – unless they're about me. _

Harry couldn't help snorting to herself at this, shaking her head at Ashford's unrivaled arrogance. She swore to Merlin that the man was more full of himself than Draco was – and that was saying something altogether. Chuckling, she continued to read anyway.

_You should probably have observed around the Ministry that many of the different Heads of Department have already begun choosing from among their underlings a potential successor to their position. Having passed your Auror written exam with flying colors, I'm sure you're aware that any Ministry official – no matter how exceptional on the job he is – can only remain Head of a particular department for a maximum of 10 consecutive years. Some of your friends have also been chosen by their department Heads and have already started their training._

"Alright…What's his point?" Harry grumbled under her breath, feeling a twinge of impatience.

_In any case, I'm on my seventh year as Head of the Unspeakable Department now. Pretty soon, I'll need to start training a potential successor to my position as Head Unspeakable Agent._

Harry's eyes widened at this point but she kept silent and forced herself to continue reading.

_As you noticed, the responsibility of being Head Unspeakable Agent is definitely not an easy feat and requires a lot of further training and experience. As the Head of this department, it is my responsibility to make sure that the person who succeeds me is not only well-qualified for the job but is also fully knowledgeable in all the skills he or she will be needing in his or her field. _

The first part of the letter ended at this and Harry had to turn the parchment over to the other side to read the rest of what Ashford had written.

_I hope you're not daft, Potter. I'm specifically writing you this letter now because I've chosen YOU as the next possible Head Unspeakable Agent after my term. I'm sure I don't have to elaborate to you the rewards, benefits and most of all – duties that come from accepting such a position. _

"Bloody hell! That's wicked!" Harry exclaimed, grinning as she bounced excitedly on the bed.

_If you're interested in the position, you should know that I'll be taking you under my wing for the next two years. You'll be working directly and personally with me on all the highest-rated missions and field assignments. You'll be my chosen apprentice and I'll be showing you all the ropes about what it takes to be the next successful Head Unspeakable Agent. Think of it as a rich, learning experience. _

Harry could practically hear the smugness in Ashford's written words at that last sentence.

_I feel obligated to warn you, Harry. This is obviously going to take effort and dedication. If you accept this opportunity, I'll be expecting a lot more from you within the next two years and I absolutely will not accept ANY excuses for any kind of failure or non-compliance with given orders. I understand this may take a heavy toll on you given your other responsibilities so I want you to think carefully about this and make the right decision. I'm not pressuring you to accept the job. You're free to decline and I'll simply move on to the next potential Unspeakable I've chosen. _

"What are you talking about, Ashford?! This is _amazing_, of course I accept!" Harry exclaimed out loud to no one in particular, jumping up from her bed and pacing the room as she read the last few lines of the letter in her hands.

_However…Should you choose to accept and you become my chosen apprentice, I will submit your name to the Minister of Magic right away and I'll begin training you the minute you get back from your leave. I look forward to your final decision till then so choose carefully, Potter. This is an opportunity of a lifetime but it may not mean as much if you don't understand the serious consequences it will entail. Congratulations and I hope to see you joining us again soon. _

_Signed: Vincent Ashford, Head: Department of Unspeakables _

Finally setting the letter back down onto a nearby table, Harry blinked to herself for several minutes as though trying to process what she had just taken in. Her green eyes clouded over in thought as she pondered the meaning behind Ashford's written words.

_What does he mean by that? 'Understand the consequences it will entail'? Is he talking about the fact that I have children now? _She thought in confusion, walking back over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. She stared off into empty space for a long time, trying to sort her own thoughts.

There was no question that she wanted this job. In fact, this was the very position she had been aiming for when she first learned of the Department of Unspeakables back in her seventh year. Her dream of once becoming Head of the Auror Department had now shifted into becoming the Head of the Unspeakable Department instead and she was more than certain she could do the job well.

Harry nodded slowly to herself, her eyes brightening in affirmation. _Besides…It's not like Draco's going to hold me back. We got over that issue LONG ago when he gave up family tradition to go to Romania with me. I'm sure it won't be a problem._ She thought to herself with a small smile.

And as to her added responsibilities, Harry had always believed in the skill and importance of good _time management. _It was that exact same skill that had helped her defeat an insanely evil wizard trying to kill her and _still _manage to keep up with her studies back in Hogwarts. She was _certain _that a couple of sleepless nights and balancing acts wouldn't be a problem.

_That settles it then…_She thought with a smile, wrapping the sheets tighter around herself as she walked over to the nearby table to write out her response to Ashford. When she finished and folded the parchment neatly in her hand, she glanced up and arched an eyebrow in sudden realization.

_Hmm. That's…Odd…I was so caught up in Ashford's letter that I didn't realize the twins had stopped crying. I wonder what Draco did to get them to quiet down. _She mused to herself, chuckling and shaking her head as she tucked the letter into her hand and made her way to the nursery.

She stopped just as she entered through the spacious room and blinked in shock at the sight of Garrett and Gabriel sleeping peacefully in their respective cribs, their tiny baby forms tucked carefully behind clean white blankets. Both her sons' pale cheeks were tinted with a flushed shade of pink and their tiny chests rose up evenly with each breath, indicating that they were, in fact, asleep.

Reaching up to scratch her head in confusion, Harry took one quick scan around the room for her husband – rolling her eyes in fond amusement when she saw that the toys she had scattered around the floor earlier that afternoon were now tucked away in their respective trunks.

_Obsessive-compulsive, neat freak…_She thought with a smirk, scanning the room again in search of Draco. She found him fast asleep on one of the lush couches in the far corner of the room, his entire form laid out along the length of the couch and his head resting against the pillows.

That wasn't what made the amused smirk on Harry's face melt into a reluctant smile, however. Her green eyes softened and she felt an overwhelming tenderness bursting in her chest as she approached his sleeping form, careful not to make any noise lest she wake him up.

Discarded on the floor beside the couch Draco was sleeping on, two bright, colorful toy scepters were laid out – standing out so obtrusively amidst the dark green carpet. Trailing her eyes further up, Harry allowed another amused smile when she finally rested her gaze on her husband's handsome, sleeping face – flicking her gaze up a bit more to the bright colored jester hat that he had unwittingly forgotten to remove from his head in his exhaustion.

_Draco, you idiot…_ Harry held back an affectionate chuckle and shook her head, walking right up to him and using a single hand to stroke his cheek. Draco shifted slightly in response and turned over to his side, inadvertently providing her with more space on the couch beside him.

Smiling to herself, Harry shrugged and laid herself out onto the space beside him, unwrapping the large blanket around her form so she could drape it over both their bodies. With that, she yawned and snuggled herself against his bare chest, grinning mischievously as she reached up and carefully adjusted the jester hat on his head.

"Good night…You silly Slytherin."

She gave him one last, sweet kiss on the cheek before she closed her eyes and began to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Aw…Draco can be _such _a cutie when he wants to be, huh? :D I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Unfortunately, the next one will take a couple of weeks. Like I said, my exams and projects will be starting again soon and I won't have as much free time to write. :c

**Next Chapter: **Two Year Time Lapse…That's all I'm going to say. Let's see what happens. ;)

**PLEASE REVIEW! CHEERS!**


	11. Time Management

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Oookay…I know I said this chapter would take a couple of weeks but I couldn't help it. Damn story wouldn't leave me _ALONE!_ *bangs head against wall* The only way I could study properly was for me to write it out and get it out of my head! Argh. Anyway, I'll be able to study now so give me about 2 weeks for the next chapter to come out... :D Either way, my procrastinating is good news to you guys huh? ;) Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Time Management**

"What do you _MEAN _our foreign investors are pulling out of the market?! Are you _CRAZY?!_"

With an angry growl, Draco slammed his fist angrily onto his office table and glared at the his finicky adviser in front of him, watching with narrowed gray eyes as the man broke out into a cold sweat and offered him a nervous smile. His fingers were shaking as he laid his reports out on the table.

"It's all this talk of the magical plague in England, Master Malfoy! Most of our foreign investors are from pureblooded families and they're terrified to go here for fear of catching the disease." Matthew Anderson explained, shaking under Draco's glare as he leaned back against his seat.

Draco felt another surge of impatience as he turned his head and glared at his other remaining consultants cowering behind Anderson's chair. They immediately flinched when his gaze fell on them and took a couple of steps away from his desk in hesitation.

"M—Master Malfoy, many of the pureblood families here in London are currently taking preventive measures against the strange magical disease so most businesses are currently weak at the moment. We're trying to keep up the connections as much as we can." One of his other consultants spoke up in explanation, wincing when all he was met with was Draco's angry sneer.

"Well you're obviously not trying _HARD ENOUGH. _Did you see last week's reports?! Investments are down by _TWENTY PERCENT! _That is _UNACCEPTABLE!_" He growled, slamming his fist back down onto the table again and causing Anderson to jump out of his seat in alarm.

"We—we'll get right to it, Master Draco—"

"_GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT AND GET BACK TO WORK BEFORE I FIRE YOU ALL RIGHT NOW! GET OUT!" _Draco exploded, raising his wand and sending a flurry of red flames at them in his anger. His advisers all squeaked in alarm and rushed out of the large CEO office in panic – shoving and stumbling past one another in their haste to keep themselves from being burned.

Once he was alone and the doors had closed again, Draco sighed loudly in frustration and massaged his temples. It was his _third_ year now as MMC's standing CEO and President and things were certainly _not _looking good for Wizarding Companies in London due to the sudden string of magical diseases that had broken out all over Europe within the past two years.

It had started with only a few rare cases at first – a small newspaper article about a man's magic weakening or another collapsing on the street due to severe magical drainage. Within the last couple of months, however, the strange occurrences had escalated _beyond _proportions and even Draco couldn't deny the slight twinge of worry he felt for his own family's safety.

The most recent incidents he had read from the Daily Prophet reported of _comatose _from several known pureblooded families scattered all around Europe. It was the same as the previous cases – that of severe magical drainage that eventually weakened the wizard to the point of comatose. A wizard life force is connected to his magic, after all. Without it, he would slowly weaken and collapse.

Fusing his eyebrows together, Draco shook his head and reached for the copy of the Daily Prophet on his table – unfolding the large newspaper and peering at the front page with a grim look on his face. Cringing, he recognized more familiar names of his old pureblooded acquaintances from France and Italy – all of which had recently been admitted to St. Mungo's for inspection.

_You would think that after the death of the Dark Lord, the Wizarding World would finally be at peace for a couple more years._ He thought in exasperation, finally setting the paper back down. He rose up slowly from his seat and walked over to the large glass window just behind him – his eyes dark with thought as he peered down at the streets below their company building.

His office was located at the very _top_ of MMC tower and from there, he had a _clear _and _beautiful_ view of the skyline – as well as a glimpse of the busy streets of Wizarding London just below. From the large glass window, he could also glimpse the Ministry of Magic building not too far away – hidden by the most powerful concealing charms from passing muggles on the streets.

At the sight of the Ministry of Magic towers, Draco's thoughts immediately drifted to Harry and at once, his eyes began to dim slowly in realization. He knew that his wife was most probably not in her office that afternoon from the rushed explanation she had given him that morning about her current mission. Harry had practically jumped right out of bed and headed straight for work without waiting for him – muttering something about needing to meet up with Ashford as soon as possible.

Draco had just barely woken up when his wife had rushed out of the bathroom, leaned down to give him a quick kiss to the cheek before she was gone from his sight – only to be seen by him _much _later at night again when she would most probably sneak into their bedroom at around twelve or one in the morning and immediately fall fast asleep in exhaustion.

Shaking his head, Draco tore his eyes away from the window and sighed in frustration. _My company is not the only thing struggling these days…My marriage isn't exactly doing so well either. Who'd have thought this would happen? _He asked himself bitterly, walking back to his desk and collapsing onto his chair.

He hardly _ever _saw Harry these days – except perhaps on weekends or whenever she would drop by the office to take the twins from him. Even then, she would always be somewhat distracted and on guard – jumping immediately at the sound of her cellphone or at the sight of Ashford's owl.

The Head Unspeakable position Vincent Ashford was training her so hard for had taken so much of her time and energy these last two years that Draco almost regretted letting her accept the promotion – if only for the fact that he missed spending time with her the way they used to.

Given that both Draco and Jaimee had high-end jobs that required a lot of their time and attention, they had experienced so much difficulty these last two years trying to distribute their time between their jobs and their sons. They hardly ever got to spend time with _each other_ – and that was what Draco hated the most. It was almost like sleeping next to a stranger in bed every night.

It didn't help that Garret and Gabriel didn't see much of their elusive mother either.

The twins rarely saw their parents during the afternoons – except when Narcissa or Genevieve would be too busy to take care of them and Draco or Jaimee had to bring them with to the office. More often than not, however, it would be _Draco_ who would actually be the one to take them since Harry pretty much spent all her days out of the office or even out of the country on an assignment.

Eventually, Draco's anger at Harry strengthened even more when he realized that unlike most children their age, their twin sons had ironically grown more attached to their _FATHER_ than their mother as the primary parent figure. This was understandable of course, given that they hardly ever saw their mother at all due to her random disappearing acts. On the occasions they did, they kept their distance from Jaimee and much preferred to be near Draco instead.

_What are you doing, Harry…? Your own sons don't even know you! You're almost like a stranger to them! _Draco cursed her angrily in his head, his eyes flicking to glare silently at the framed photograph he had on his desk of his and Jaimee's wedding photo just three years ago.

Narrowing his eyes, he sneered angrily at his wife's beautiful face smiling right back at him from the photograph – looking just as exquisite as Draco remembered she had looked during their wedding day. After a few moments of staring at her face, Draco finally set the photograph back on his table and sighed again, shaking his head and taking a long sip from his cup of coffee.

_Things were so perfect back then…What happened…?_ He asked himself silently as he set the cup back down and frowned in regret. _Where did we go wrong? What mistake did I make? What do I do to fix things? _He bit his lip, his hands slowly clenching themselves into tight, angry fists.

Within the last two years, he felt that Harry was becoming more and more distant from him.

He knew she loved her job and that she was trying as hard as she could to balance her time effectively but so far, she had been working herself half to death and it _still _didn't seem to be enough. Even the rest of their friends and family have noticed her absence from his side and though Draco knew that they didn't ask him about his marriage for fear of being polite, he saw their worried faces.

Being the stubborn person she was, however, Harry insisted to Draco _constantly_ whenever he tried to discuss the matter with her that all hectic schedules and training would be over once she was promoted to Head Unspeakable position that year. Unfortunately, this only led them to another one of their fierce arguments in which they ended up screaming at each other the entire night.

In fact…These days, Draco couldn't remember doing anything else with Harry _except_ arguing.

They argued about her schedule, raising the children, their friends, their jobs, their _lives_ – practically _anything _they could argue about and the sad part of it all was that the argument itself would most probably be the longest conversation they've spent together in a single day.

_Probably another reason I pick fights with her so much now…It's the only time I get to talk to the stupid git._ Draco thought darkly to himself, sighing as he carefully took his reading glasses off and covered his eyes with his hands. _What's the use…? I'll only lose her more if I hold her back again…_

He shook his head and stared off blankly into empty space– his handsome features creased into a dark scowl. He was just about to force himself to get back to work when the sharp buzz of his magical intercom filled the office room – followed by his secretary's sultry, feminine voice.

"Master Malfoy…? I have several documents with me that need your signature of approval. Shall I bring them in or shall you pick them up later?" She asked coyly, waiting as Draco blinked himself out of his thoughts and answered her in a brisk tone of voice. "Bring them in. I'll sign them now before I forget." He answered, reaching for the expensive feather quill on his desk.

A minute later, the large double doors of his office swung open and he was greeted with the sight of Natasha's flirtatious smile as she sauntered slowly into the room – her feminine curves and long, slim legs seen perfectly by the fit of her tight, low-cut corporate suit.

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes as she deposited the documents of folders on his desk, bending down low enough in front of him so that he was given a perfect view of her breasts. "Good afternoon, Master Malfoy…" She greeted in a flirtatious whisper, flicking her eyes down his lean frame as she stood by his desk and waited for him to sign all the papers.

When the young MMC President chose to ignore her, Natasha spoke again – lowering her eyelashes with a teasing smile. "…May I say, Master Malfoy…You are looking _particularly _handsome today. Of course, I've _always_ thought you looked handsome _everyday…" _She failed to see the way Draco's left eye twitched in growing irritation as he began to sign the papers faster in agitation.

"Thank you, Natasha. And may _I _say that I've always thought you looked particularly _slutty _everyday?" He drawled back sarcastically, smirking when he heard her try to stifle the indignant gasp that escaped her lips. "Please come to work in a more appropriate attire next time. Otherwise, I may be forced to relegate you down to a lower department. Is that understood?" He added further as he finished signing the last document and handed the folder back to her with a charming smile.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him but sneered and nodded back stiffly in barely concealed affronted anger. "Understood, _sir._" She snapped, snatching the folder from his hands. Scowling, she ignored his sniggering and stomped back out of the office, closing the doors stiffly behind her.

Once he was alone, Draco leaned back against his seat and began to go through the rest of his paperwork in silence – pausing every now and then to adjust his reading glasses or take a small sip of coffee. Within another hour, he was interrupted yet again by another sound – this time by the loud beeping of his muggle cellphone. He sighed, taking it out of his pocket and flicking up his ear.

"I'm working right now." He drawled irritably, using his left hand to hold the phone to his ear while his right hand continued to write more notes and affix signatures on his financial reports.

"I know. You're _always_ working. That's the problem, Draco." He heard Blaise's amused voice on the other line. Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance and stopped, setting his quill back down onto the table. He leaned back against his chair and listened to the rest of his best friend's chuckling.

"What do you want, Zabini? Unlike _YOU _who probably spends the entire time in his office goofing off, _SOME OF US_ have serious business to attend to." Draco retorted sarcastically, pulling his silver reading frames off his face and setting them down the table next to his quill.

He heard Blaise laughing on the other line. "This won't take long, Draco. I actually also have a lot of work to do today given the poor state of our company's foreign investments this month. How are _you_ guys faring? It seems all the other big families are afraid to go to England because of this stupid magical disease." Blaise muttered, causing Draco to sit up in his seat at his words.

"Tell me about it…I don't understand it either. I've lost _THREE_ foreign investors this month because of this stupid plague and if it doesn't let up soon, I'm afraid more investors will pull out too." He grumbled, sighing and running a hand through his silver-blonde hair.

Blaise scoffed in agreement. "Of course we will. Bloody plague is all over the Daily Prophet. Those stupid reporters are making too big a deal out of it all, I reckon. Anyway, that wasn't actually why I called." He paused for a moment and Draco heard him rifling through some papers.

"I was just calling to remind you about the birthday party Hermione's throwing for Elliot later. You and Harry are coming right? Bring the twins along; some of the other kids are going to be there as well." Blaise told him and his words caused Draco to groan and massage his temples in realization.

"Ugh…I completely _forgot…_ That's _tonight_, huh?" He replied, flicking a quick glance to his table calendar. "Yeah, alright…We'll be there. Harry should be picking the twins up from my Mother so I'll just remind her. Thanks." He told him, stiffening when Blaise spoke up again in a worried voice.

"Uhm…Draco? Harry _IS _going to be there right? Hermione told me to—"

"_SHE'LL BE THERE, DAMN IT! TELL GRANGER TO MIND HER OWN DAMN BUSINESS!" _Draco snapped angrily before he could stop himself, the words coming out of his mouth in a harsh, hissing snarl. Blaise paused on the other line in uncertainty. "I was just asking, Draco—"

"Yeah well, you _AND _Granger should learn to stay out of it. See you tonight." Draco flicked his phone off before Blaise could say anything else, shoving the muggle device right back into the pocket of his suit. Scowling angrily to himself, he jerkily picked his quill back up and forced himself to work for the next half hour in an effort to get his mind off the impact of Blaise's words.

When his cell phone rang loudly again another half hour after that, Draco slammed his quill down loudly in annoyance and practically snarled as he flicked the device open against his ear.

"_WHAT?!"_

He paused when he heard a woman's voice speaking softly on the other line. "O—oh my… How do you work this thing? U—uhm…Do I press this—Uhm…_Hello? _Draco? Is that you darling?" At the sound of his mother's uncertain voice, Draco's anger faded and was replaced by exasperation.

"Mother…I don't mean to sound rude or unwelcoming but I'm a little busy at the moment." Draco spoke in a cordial tone of voice, using his other hand to continue writing again as he spoke. "Do you need to tell me something urgent? If that's not the case, I would suggest I talk to you a little later…" He added softly in a careful tone lest he offend his mother's feelings with his directness.

Narcissa didn't seem to mind, however, and only sighed in apology on the other line.

"Oh I know, darling and I'm _awfully _sorry to disturb you in the office like this but I'm just a little concerned here…Jaimee was supposed to have picked up the twins about two hours ago and she hasn't arrived or contacted me yet so I was worried for her safety." She spoke gently and at once, her words caused Draco's eyes to harden and his fingers to tighten around the quill in his hand.

"…_What?_"

His mother hesitated when she heard the sharp, angry tone of his voice but answered him anyway. "She was supposed to have picked up the twins _two hours ago, _love. I wouldn't normally mind of course but it's just that…Your Grandmother and I have this social gathering to attend soon and I'm afraid I will not be able to bring Garret and Gabriel along with me—"

Draco didn't bother listening to the rest of her sentence as he stood up stiffly from his seat and began striding across the office to gather his things. "Don't worry about it, Mother." He drawled coldly, the sneer on his face angry as he shrugged himself into his jacket and grabbed his wand.

"Oh Draco, darling…I'm sure Jaimee has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she couldn't pick them up on time. I just—"

Draco cut her off again with a harsh laugh just as he was exiting his office. "She just _FORGOT, _Mother. _Again._ Don't worry…I'm coming over there right now to pick the twins up."

* * *

Harry's green eyes narrowed carefully. She tightened her fingers around her wand and approached the corner of the very narrow hallway in front of her – stopping every now and then to make sure her surroundings were clear and deserted. Around her, she heard the occasional sounds of droplets of water dripping softly from the damp ceiling to the murky, muddy floors by her feet.

Holding her breath in anticipation, she held her light-tipped wand higher up in the air to inspect the walls around her more carefully – her face cringing in disgust when she was met with some strange, gruesome images and Egyptian drawings depicting symbolisms of torture and death.

_Ugh…I never did bother studying Ancient Runes…Who knew these old magical Egyptian ceremonial grounds had them? Where's Hermione when you need her? _Harry thought irritably to herself. She shuddered in disgust again when she was met with a particularly nasty image of an Egyptian king drinking the blood of several of his prisoners.

Blinking the horrible image away, Harry steadied her wand and finally stopped just as she reached the corner. Taking a deep breath, she tensed her muscles before she turned sharply – pointing her wand directly in front of her in caution and alertness. She stopped immediately and lowered her wand when all she was met with was a dead end – along with weird, ancient magical inscriptions engraved all over the bronze, stone wall.

Shaking her head, Harry rolled her eyes to herself and picked up the magical pendant hanging off her neck. She leaned down and began speaking to it in a low whisper. "We're clear, Ashford! There's nothing here. Just a weird dead end with…I'm not sure if these are Ancient Runes or some old Egyptian magical symbols or something…" She spoke up clearly, leaning against the wall in exhaustion as she waited for the Head Unspeakable to respond.

After a couple of seconds, it was Byron's voice that answered her through her pendant. _"What kind of symbols are they, Harry? Do they look more like weird, squiggly lines or do they actually look like small pictures? Like geometrical shapes or something?"_ He asked her, causing Harry to squint her eyes as she walked over to wall again and inspected the symbols on it in query.

"Hmm…More like geometrical shapes, Byron…In fact, they actually remind me of this old report Hermione wrote back in seventh year."She mused out loud, twirling her wand idly in her hands. Again, she waited for one of the other Unspeakables to respond and within a couple of seconds, Ashford's voice was blaring through her small pendant.

_"Those are Ancient Runes used by the old Wizarding families in the Middle Ages. Byron or Nicholas here should be able to read them. Good work, Potter. Wait a couple of minutes; we're going down there now. Don't touch anything until we get there. We'll need to decipher those symbols first before we can proceed." _He told her, earning a grin from Harry as she pocketed her wand and leaned back comfortably against the wall again.

"Affirmative. Hey boss, you know I much prefer _THESE_ missions now than the ones you used to give me? At least I don't have to wear those ridiculous outfits anymore."She kidded lightly, her eyes following the row of strange markings and pictures along opposite walls of the corridors.

_"Yeah well…Don't get too comfortable just yet, Potter. Every now and then, you still need to play eye bait for an occasional search and capture assignment. Every Unspeakable does." _Ashford replied again, his sarcastic voice echoing in the silence. Harry rolled her eyes to herself.

"But come on… This is so much more _WICKED_! I'm in an underground Ancient ceremonial site in _EGYPT_ for Merlin's sake! How can I go back to being eye-bait _NOW?_" Harry kidded, chuckling when the voice that answered her wasn't Ashford but Byron again.

_"Speak for yourself, Harry. Ugh. I hate outdoor excavation assignments…God this place smells AWFUL! Everything's so damp, murky and dark! I think I stepped in a puddle!" _He complained loudly, earning another light chuckle from Harry as she rolled her eyes at her cousin-in-law's antics.

The metamorphagus had also been promoted just recently by Ashford the previous year following Harry's promotion. Byron had been appointed to the position of _Head-Officer-in-Training_ – Second-in-Command after the Head Unspeakable's authority. Nicholas Ambleton was the current Head officer at the moment and was helping train Byron during assignments as well.

Smirking, Harry leaned in close to her pendant again and spoke up in a teasing voice. "You're acting like a woman, Byron. Stop being so prissy all the time. I'm sure Ashford doesn't appreciate it." She smirked wider when she was answered by Ashford's irritated, mocking voice.

"That's not funny, Potter. No references to personal matters during a field assignment. You _know _that's dangerous. Just for your cheek, I'm writing that on your evaluation sheet." The Head Unspeakable snapped, causing the smirk on Harry's face to fade into an angry frown.

Truth be told, she had absolutely _NO _idea what Byron saw in Vincent Ashford – or how the metamorphagus had managed to put up with the man's ill-mannered behavior for _TWO YEARS NOW_ despite the fact that Ashford never actually confirmed their relationship to the public or anyone else.

There were office rumors of course – and whispers from the other Unspeakable agents about a possible romantic tryst between Vincent Ashford and Byron Malfoy but neither of the two men actually confirmed it. Though Harry could see in Byron's eyes that he was getting more and more bothered with this particular situation, she couldn't tell ifAshford felt the same way.

The man was incredibly arrogant and selfish – that much was for certain. There have been _plenty _of times that Harry _and _Byron had caught Vincent with other men outside office hours. Byron never spoke of it to Harry of course but she could see the pain in his eyes whenever this happened. If Ashford wasn't her damn superior, Harry would have punched his lights out long ago.

_"Potter?! Are you still in there?! Which way do we turn after crossing the Basilisk Chamber?! Right or left?!" _Vincent snapped again, breaking through her thoughts as she blinked and turned her attention back to the pendant hanging from her neck. Rolling her eyes, she held it up to her lips.

"Right then left at the next fork. Hurry on up, you three! It's sweltering hot in here!" She complained, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. "_YOU think it's hot?! I'm wearing a godforsaken cloak in here, Jaimee!"_ Nicholas spoke up in an equally miserable grumble.

Laughing, she waited a couple more minutes before she finally caught sight of Vincent's lean frame appearing on the other end of the narrow hallway – followed by Byron and Nicholas' own cloaked figures. Seeing the obvious awkward and uneasy tension between Vincent and Byron, Harry shot Nicholas a sympathetic grin and beckoned them over to join her near the end.

Vincent ignored her look and walked over to the end of the hallway – lifting his wand up and pointing it directly at the symbols on the wall. One look at it, however, was all it took for him to smirk and shake his head in amusement. "Figures you wouldn't know what this meant, Potter… It's an old Wizarding tradition. Used historically by ancient wizards to keep muggles out of magical sites." He explained, raising a finger and tracing the symbols along the wall.

Harry frowned at him in concern while Byron and Nicholas nodded in understanding. "What? I don't get it. What are we supposed to do?" She asked, watching as Byron stepped in front of her and held the tip of his wand against the symbols in curiosity.

After reading it silently, he quirked the corners of his lips into an easy grin and turned to face her. "It's an entrance to a shrine, Harry. It requires a couple drops of _pure_, untainted magical blood in order to proceed." He paused and transfigured his wand into a small knife, holding it over his palm.

"I'm a Malfoy. Shall I do the honors?" Waiting for Vincent and Nicholas' nod of confirmation, Harry watched with a wince as Byron carefully made a small slash on his hand and held the wound up over the small circle on the wall, waiting until several drops of his blood dripped and stained the circle.

After waiting a couple of minutes – Byron healing up the wound on his hand with his wand – Harry finally stepped back in alarm when the wall in front of them suddenly glowed bright red. It began to dissolve before their eyes – melting away to expose a narrow entrance to a small, magically lit room containing a dusty, ancient looking magical shrine.

Holding her wand tightly in her hand, Harry followed the three men into the room in silence – her trained eyes inspecting the surroundings carefully for any sign of a bad presence or remnants of dark magic. A large, strange altar was positioned at the very front of the small room – decorated with the weirdest symbols she had ever seen. A very large symbol was situated at the very center of the room –engraved deeply onto the stone floor below their feet.

As the other three inspected the altar in silence, Harry bent down on one knee and reached a single hand out to lightly brush the sand away from the symbol on the floor. She fused her eyebrows together and bit her lip as she tried to figure out where she had seen the familiar symbol before.

Fortunately, Vincent answered her question out loud for her as he walked back over to where she was kneeling, raising his wand and pointing it at the symbol below her feet. "It's called the _TIET_, Potter. The _Blood of Isis. _You may have encountered the symbol in your history classes before." He explained distractedly as he knelt down and inspected the symbol in thought.

Harry let out a nervous laugh and shrugged. "I knew it looked familiar, somewhat. I kind of spent most of my history classes asleep in the corner—"

"If I remember from _MY _history classes, the old Egyptians were _obsessed _with magical blood and were trying to find a way to harness it somehow. Do you think it has something to do with that?" Byron spoke out loud from where he was standing with Nicholas by the altar.

Vincent could only frown in response and shake his head in uncertainty. "I'm not sure, Byron…But something tells me there's more to this than meets the eye." He whispered, his voice causing a shiver of fear to run down Harry's spine. Just as she was going to ask him what he what he had meant by that, Nicholas surprised them all by speaking up – holding his pendant up to his ear.

"_SIR!_ It's Addison! He says we should report to St. Mungo's right away! There's been more incidences of purebloods being diagnosed with magical weakening and drainage. The Aurors are already there but Addison says the Minister wants us conducting a separate investigation as well. Also, the CISO department wants us to head back immediately to report our findings regarding this ceremonial site." He rushed out, his words immediately causing Vincent to jump to his feet.

The rest of them followed and gathered around him to wait for his instructions. Pocketing his wand back carefully in the pocket of his robes, Vincent frowned in suspicion and looked up at them.

"You two report to CISO immediately. Potter. You're coming with me to St. Mungo's."

* * *

"We don't know what's causing it, Ashford…But the symptoms are becoming more and more dangerous." Richard Wickham spoke softly in a worried, weary voice as he led Harry and Vincent over to the side of the hospital where most of the purebloods with the strange disease were admitted.

A couple of assistant Healers pushed through them quickly as they headed to the emergency room with another panicking Wizarding family, the male of which looked on the verge of collapsing as he was carried by his shoulders. Harry swallowed nervously as she watched all this happening in front of her, her eyes wide with apprehension when she heard the panicked shouting of many families around them as they tried to inquire about their strange condition.

Wickham continued to lead the through the busy corridor to the end where the emergency room was located – gesturing for them to peer in through the glass pane. "Just this morning, young Master Lucian McConway was taken in and he was positively _convulsing _and coughing blood from his mouth. Sometimes, the wizard's reaction to magical drainage is unique you see…I figured—"

"Wait a minute…_Lucian McConway_?! As in Richard McConway's son?!"

Harry cut him off sharply at this, peering intently through the glass pane – her eyes widening in horrified realization when she met with the familiar face of one of her former suitors during the hunting season. The young male was lying unconscious near the end of the emergency room – his face incredibly pale and a horde of Healers gathered around his form.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at her reaction, clearly confused. "You know him, Harry?" He asked, watching as Harry's face paled further and she nodded in grim nervousness. Running a shaky hand through her hair, she sighed and looked up at Wickham and Vincent's inquiring faces.

"I met him once during my hunting season…He was one of my first few suitors. I actually feel really bad now considering I was a little nasty when I rejected his proposal for marriage." She answered with a shake of her head, flicking her eyes back up and looking intently at Vincent's face.

The Head Unspeakable nodded silently and turned to Wickham again. "Who are the other purebloods with the disease? Are their cases as serious as McConway's?" He asked, watching as the Head Healer bit his lip and nodded, gesturing over to the other remaining emergency rooms.

"Other recent purebloods afflicted with the disease just arrived this morning…Preston Skeffington…Bartholomew Rowland…Anthony McGavin…" He pointed to each pureblooded male as he mentioned them and Harry's gaze fell on their unconscious forms, wincing when she noticed their horribly pale skin and the group of Healers gathered around their bodies.

Vincent looked up at her as he tried to process the information. "Any of those male friends of yours, Potter?" He asked but Harry just bit her lip and shook her head. "Not really…I only met Rowland once. He was another suitor… I know of the other two by names but I've never actually met them. I'm certain Draco knew them all at one point or another though…I can ask him." She offered but Vincent shook his head, his eyes darkening in realization.

"That's not what I meant, Potter…Don't you see the pattern there? Think about it…What do all these victims have in common? Aside from the fact that they're all pureblooded obviously…" He stroked his chin and thought, running a hand afterwards through his black hair.

Harry caught onto his meaning immediately and nodded, turning her head back and staring at Bartholomew Rowland's blanketed form through the glass pane of the emergency room doors. "They're all pureblooded _MALES_, sir…Lately; no woman has been taken in yet with the disease." She answered and Vincent nodded firmly, flicking his eyes back to Wickham.

"_Exactly, _Potter…They're all pureblooded _males…_And from the more prestigious families at that. But the last part is just an observation at this point." His frown deepened and his voice dropped to a low whisper. "I have my theories of course… but I can't be certain enough yet to take action… Either way, we can't afford to take any chances. You'd best warn your own husband, Potter. I reckon he's a likely target." He told her and Harry stiffened at his words, nodding firmly in agreement.

She was just about to ask him exactly what he meant by that when Vincent suddenly sauntered off to talk to Kingsley and the other Aurors gathered near the other end of the corridor – leaving Harry standing beside with Wickham with a worried frown on her face. The Head Healer seemed to notice her concern immediately and tried to comfort her with a small, weak smile.

"I'm sure Vincent just meant for you to warn young Master Draco, Jaimee…In any case, if I may lighten the mood a little…How are young Garret and Gabriel doing? If I'm not mistaken, they should be around two-years-old by now? Is that right? He asked her kindly, watching as Harry's eyes immediately softened at the mention of her sons and she gave him a genuine smile.

"They're doing _wonderfully,_ Wickham. They're very healthy and energetic. In fact, I'm supposed to pick them up right now from Narcissa in about a couple of minut—" Her eyes widened in horror before flicking in panic to the small watch on Wickham's wrist.

"_BLOODY HELL, THE TWINS! _Wickham, what time is it?!" She blurted out loudly, ignoring the looks she received from the passing Healers at her loud exclamation.

Wickham frowned in confusion and checked his watch. "It's a quarter to three—"

_"DAMN IT!"_ Harry knocked herself painfully over the head before shoving her wand back into her robes and giving Wickham one last frantic nod. "I—I'm sorry, Wickham but I have to get going! I was supposed to pick up my sons two hours ago!" She didn't bother waiting for his response as she bolted down the corridor towards the exit, turning around one last time to give him a wave and nod.

"Can you please tell Ashford that I'll see him back at the office? Thanks so much! Bye! "

Wickham opened his mouth to answer but the young Mistress Malfoy had already disappeared as she rounded the corner of the long corridor towards the hospital exit.

* * *

Draco looked up from the folders on his desk and frowned when he came upon the sight of a grinning Garrett toddling over to stand in front of his large office desk and trying to reach his hand upwards towards his father's wand. Sighing, Draco set his quill down and gave his son a stern glare.

"Garrett, go back over to the couch over there and stay with your brother." He ordered firmly, trying to keep his voice controlled but Garrett took one look at him and scowled, shaking his head furiously and making a face. "_NO! DOWANNA!" _He cried out, ignoring Draco's glare as he reached his tiny baby hand up again and tried to take his father's wand from the table.

Clenching his hands into fists at having been interrupted from his work for the _FIFTH TIME_ that afternoon by his oldest son, Draco calmly stood up from his seat and walked over to stand behind Garrett's tiny form. "Garrett…I said _GO OVER THERE _and stay with your brother. _NOW._" Draco repeated in a more assertive voice, grabbing his blonde son by the collar of his green baby robes and easily lifting the toddler up into his arms.

Garrett screamed and struggled wildly against him, kicking his sneakers at his father and trying to wriggle himself out of his grasp. _"NO! DOWANNA! DADDY, BAD! DOWANNA! DOWANNA!" _Draco sighed and instantly regretted the day he had been so excited when he had heard Garrett's first word – "_DOWANNA"—_an expression he had evidently learned from his Uncle Byron.

Looking up from the corner of the room, a blue-robed Gabriel blinked at the sight of his older twin brother wrestling wildly against their father and grinned, his bright eyes lighting up with laughter. "Heehee…_GAWWETT DOWANNA…" _He exclaimed gleefully and despite himself, Draco couldn't prevent a laugh as he carried Garrett over to where Gabriel was seated Indian-style on the carpeted floor.

Unlike his older brother – who had spent the last hour traipsing around Draco's MMC office and laughing gleefully by pressing his father's magical intercom button several times to summon his secretary back and forth into the room – Gabriel had been content to sit down in the corner of the room with a box of magic crayons in one hand and several sheets of blank paper in the other.

Although Draco certainly couldn't deny that the sight of Natasha walking back and forth into his office and practically tearing her hair out in frustration each time Garrett stuck his tongue out at her was amusing, he had eventually grown tired of his son's antics. Now, he really _did _just want Garrett to settle down he could finish all the work he had to do for that afternoon.

Placing Garrett back down onto his feet beside Gabriel, Draco took one look over his younger son's shoulder before reaching a hand out and ruffling the toddler's short silver blonde hair. "What are you drawing there, Gabe?" He asked curiously, kneeling down beside his sons and using his free hand to grasp Garrett tightly by the wrist when the other toddler was about to take off again.

Gabriel blinked up at him with wide, sparkling green eyes and giggled, pointing a finger at the circular scribbles he had drawn on his paper. "_DADDY!_" He exclaimed loudly, indicating to the largest scribble on the page. Draco raised an eyebrow in fond amusement and chuckled in response.

"It would have been nice if you had drawn me with a _FACE_ and _BODY_, Gabriel. Who's that little spot beside me?" He asked, pointing to a yellow spot beside the scribble. Gabriel grinned up at him again and pointed to Garrett – who was currently trying to break his hand free from his father's grip.

"_GAWWETT AND GABWIEL!"_ He pointed to the spot beside Garrett and then pointed to himself, looking up and giving his father another proud, angelic smile. Draco's own smile faded, however, when he realized that there were only _three _scribbles on the paper his son held.

_He doesn't recognize his mother as part of the family yet… This isn't good…_Draco thought to himself in realization and he was just about to talk to Gabriel again when Garrett surprised him by managing to slip himself out of his grip, giggling and running towards his father's desk again.

Draco was up on his feet immediately and tried to chase after him. "_GARRETT DRACO MALFOY! COME BACK HERE! BEHAVE YOURSELF, WE'RE NOT AT HOME!"_ He scolded firmly but Garrett was squealing happily and was already racing towards his father's wand on the table again.

_"NO! DOWANNA! DADDY CATCH! DADDY CATCH! DADDY CATCH—" _Garrett's laughing, high-pitched shouts ended abruptly when the blonde toddler tripped on the laces of his sneakers and accidentally hit his head on the bottom of his father's desk table – immediately stumbling to the carpeted floor. The 2-year-old sat up and began to whimper, clutching his blonde head in pain.

_"DADDY…OUCHIE…" _

Garrett blinked big teary green eyes up imploringly at his father from across the room before he suddenly burst into tears, his loud screams causing Draco to wince and immediately rush to his side in panic. He knelt down beside him and brushed back Garrett's sleek blonde strands from his forehead to inspect the small, forming red bruise.

"Garrett, what am I going to do with you...?" Draco whispered softly to himself in exhaustion, grabbing his wand from the table before gathering his crying son into his arms. Once he had stood back up with Garrett clutching tightly onto him, he dropped a kiss onto the top of the toddler's head and walked back over to where Gabriel was watching them with equally teary green eyes.

"_GAWWETT BOO-BOO?_" He asked tearfully, earning another reluctant smile from his father as Draco sat down onto the couch near the window and cradled Garrett's crying form gently against his chest. "Yes, your brother has a boo-boo, Gabriel. It's okay…He's fine." He told him but Gabriel climbed up onto the couch beside him and sat down right next to them.

Garrett sniffed softly and buried his face against his father's robes, wrapping his tiny arms around Draco's neck as the Malfoy Head raised his wand and pointed it at the bruise on Garrett's forehead. After casting a simple healing spell, the red bruise slowly began to disappear, leaving Garrett's soft skin pale and unmarred once again.

Gabriel clapped his hands gleefully at this and hopped along the couch. "_MASHIK! MASHIK! MASHIK!" _He exclaimed proudly and Draco answered him by chuckling and ruffling his hair again. He was just about to set Garrett back down onto the couch but the blonde toddler whimpered stubbornly and clutched on tighter to Draco's neck, causing his father to sigh in growing exasperation.

"Garrett, I have to get back to work—"

"_—SHIT SHIT SHIT! SORRY! I'M SO SORRY, DRACO! I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE!" _

He was cut off when the doors to his office suddenly blasted open and he found himself staring at his wife's flushed face, her entire form heaving with exhaustion. She bent down slightly and rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Her cheeks were tainted with an endearing shade of pink and her hair was disheveled from running but as always, Harry looked beautiful and the sight of her apologetic face was almost enough to make Draco forget that he was angry with her.

_Almost._

A sneer forming on his face, Draco shifted Garrett carefully in his arms and glared at her over his shoulder. "Where the _HELL _have you been, Potter?! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" He exploded, unwittingly causing Garrett to flinch in his arms and Gabriel to back away from him in fear.

"_DADDY…MAD…?"_

Sighing, Harry bit her lip and walked into the office, picking Gabriel up and holding the other two-year-old against her chest. "Look, Draco…I _KNOW_ I was supposed to pick the children up today but things got so hectic at work and I forgot and I—" She winced when Draco's eyes flashed again and he raised his wand, pointing it at the door so it would close behind her.

Harry winced for a moment when she heard the wooden doors violently slam shut. She bit her lip nervously and looked up at Draco's face – noting his tense form and the way he was obviously trying not to explode in front of their twin sons. He continued to glare at her in accusatory anger.

"You _FORGOT?!_ You _FORGOT_ to pick up your _CHILDREN, _Harry?! What kind of parent are you?! Are you honestly trying to prove to yourself how much of a horrible mother you are?!" Draco mocked loudly, ignoring the way Gabriel's eyes were beginning to water at his father's shouting.

"_DADDY—"_

Jaimee's eyes suddenly hardened at Draco's words and she glared right back at him, adjusting Gabriel carefully in her arms when the two-year-old began to struggle against her. "Draco, I _SAID_ I was _SORRY…_Alright?! It won't happen again! I just had a lot of things on my mind lately—"

Draco laughed harshly and shook his head, walking up to her so she could see the cold, disbelieving look in his steely eyes. "Sorry isn't _GOOD _enough, Potter. Sorry is _ALL _you ever seem to say these days and quite frankly, I'm sick of it! Do you not want to be with your children, Harry?!"

Her eyes flashed indignantly at this and she sneered at him, adjusting Gabriel in her arms again when the two-year-old began to whine loudly. "Of _COURSE_ I want to be with my children, Draco! What kind of question is that?! I understand you're upset that my work is taking so much time these days but I _TOLD _you that it's only for a few more months! Would you let up already?!" She growled, a slight edge of irritation in her voice as she spoke.

"Yeah…? Well that's what you said last time too…" Draco muttered darkly under his breath, sighing and shifting Garrett in his arms when the blonde toddler began to whimper. Looking back up into his wife's beautiful, angry face, Draco shook his head in defeat before slowly looking away.

Harry saw the defeated look in his eyes and immediately felt a stab of guilt. Cursing herself silently in her head, she squelched back the rest of her anger and tried to speak up in a softer voice.

"Draco…Look…I'm really am sorry. I'll—"

"I have a Board Meeting at six so you'd better take the twins back with you to the Ministry. I'll just meet you three at home before going to Elliot's birthday party." He drawled coldly, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes as he walked over to her and made to deposit Garrett back onto the floor.

Once again, Garrett whined and clutched on tighter to his father's form. Just as Draco was going to untangle the small hands from around his neck, Harry finally set Gabriel back down and walked over to him with an uncertain frown. Waiting until Draco had managed to place Garrett back on his feet on the floor; she finally reached up and caressed her husband's tightly clenched jaw.

"Draco…Listen—" She winced when Draco's hard eyes flicked on her again and she almost backed away when she saw the familiar, hateful sneer on his face. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced herself to continue to speak in a soothing voice, using her free hand to grasp his tightly.

"I know you and I are struggling right now…Things have been…_not so good…_between us. And I also know that it's mostly my fault. I understand how much my job has been demanding so much from me that I barely get to spend as much time with you _or _the twins anymore…" She began, watching as Draco's eyes merely darkened spitefully and his sneer widened in agreement.

Despite his reaction, she continued to talk anyway. "As much as I know it probably doesn't mean anything to you, I truly am so _SORRY_ that I forgot to pick up the twins from your mother awhile ago. Believe me, that wasn't my intention. I'll make it up to you _AND _them, I promise." She reached a hand down and gently ruffled Garrett's mane of blonde hair, causing the toddler to blink up at her.

Draco's jaw remained clenched in disbelieving anger but Harry noticed the way his eyes were slowly beginning to soften at her words and the way his fingers were beginning to squeeze hers. Gabriel and Garrett blinked up at them in mild interest, their green eyes wide with childlike curiosity.

Taking his reaction as a positive sign, Harry spoke again. "I'm trying my best, 'Co…Okay? I'll try much harder, I promise…Please just don't make the situation any harder than it already is. We fight too much already these days…I don't want that." She told him, looking intently at him and watching the conflicted emotions running all over his handsome face.

Draco looked as though he was on the verge of relenting but his expression still remained guarded as he looked at her, one of his eyebrows arched in doubt. After a minute, he spoke – drawing attention to the way he was obviously trying to keep the emotions out of his face.

"Harry…I…" He shook his head and sighed, pausing to gather his words together. "I hardly get to _see _you anymore….It's beginning to feel _wrong. _I know I said I'll support you in this but—"

"I know. I know, Draco—"

"—_NO. _You _DON'T _know, Potter! I'm telling you now that _THIS HAS GOT TO STOP." _Draco cut her off sharply before she could interrupt him, narrowing his eyes and raising his voice a few levels to make sure she heard him. Harry nodded patiently at this, waiting for him to continue.

"Your own sons _BARELY _see you anymore! _I _barely see you anymore and I can't even remember the last time you stayed at home! In case you didn't realize, Harry…It takes _TWO _people to maintain a marriage." He snapped sarcastically, causing her to wince again in dismay.

"I know, 'Co…I'm _TRYING…_Okay? I am _TRYING _my goddamn best." She forced out through clenched teeth, fisting her hands and desperately trying to control her anger lest she explode and snap at Draco again – which would only make _him _explode and make the situation even worse.

Draco just looked back at her, his eyes dimming in silent disappointment. When she saw this, Harry felt even more horrible. She would have preferred him blowing up and snarling at her in his usual bouts of anger. To see him looking at her so helplessly like that just made her feel like dung.

She took another step toward him and looked up at him, using a single hand to slowly turn his face so that he was looking into her green eyes. When he stared back blankly at her, she began to speak in soft whisper. "I'm sorry…I'll work on it, 'Co. I promise. I'm sorry…Okay?"

"_SOWWEE…_" Gabriel echoed his mother loudly with a giggle.

The sudden, high-pitched voice of the two-year-old caused both his parents to blink in surprise at having been reminded of their twin sons' presence. Chuckling to themselves, they stared at each other's face – Draco staring at her with doubt and Harry staring right back in uneasy guilt.

After a long, awkward moment, Draco finally sighed in defeat – nodding slowly and reluctantly quirking his lips into a weak smile. Shaking his head at himself, he reached a hand up and cupped her cheek, wrapping his other hand around her waist and pulling her slender body against his.

"Just…Make sure you don't forget the dinner I planned next Friday, okay…? I told you about that _weeks ago _just so you could clear your schedule." He told her, tightening his arms around her slender body and closing his eyes as he caught the sweet, familiar scent of her hair.

Harry chuckled softly to herself at his reaction, wrapping her own arms around his neck and leaning up to press her lips briefly against his in a sweet kiss. "I won't…I promise." She blinked up at him with her bright green eyes, causing Draco to grumble and roll his own eyes in annoyance.

"I swear, Potter… Those blasted eyes of yours are my weakness. They get you out of nearly _everything…_All you have to do is flutter them up at me like that. Ugh. Your sons get me the same way, it's _frustrating._" He growled, causing his wife to laugh and wrap her arms tighter around him.

She leaned in and gave him another kiss before pulling away and rewarding him with a quirky grin. "Mmmhmm…I know your _other _weakness, Malfoy…Shall I show you how skillfully I _exploit it_ tonight as well?" She asked in a low, teasing voice, holding back another fond laugh when Draco's eyes narrowed and glared down at her in unmistakable lust.

He let his glinting mercury eyes trail up and down her body in silence – mentally undressing her with his gaze alone – before flicking them back up to meet her smirk. "Enlighten me, Potter…What exactly _is _this weakness of mine you speak of?" He drawled back, raising an eyebrow lazily at her.

Her smile instantly became suggestive as she pressed herself closer against him, making sure he felt the curves of her body clearly against his own. As she expected, Draco's eyes darkened to a misty gray and his breath hitched in his throat. Chuckling, she moved her hands down from around his neck, placed them right on his arse and _squeezed_ – causing him to stiffen in shocked amusement.

She smirked at his reaction, leaning in to nibble on his ear. "Need I say more…?"

A low growl escaped Draco's throat as he pulled her closer against his lean figure, leaning down to whisper something impatiently into her ear. "You are such a _TEASE…_" He hissed, bending his head down lower so he could place heated, searing kisses along the curve of her shoulder.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to allow him better access, biting back a moan of pleasure when she felt his hands beginning to roam her body. Just as Draco's hands were trying to undo the buttons on her robes, they were both brought out of their lustful haze by a curious voice.

"_TEASE? MOMMY TEASE? TEASE! TEASE! TEASE!" _

Draco and Harry broke apart instantly and flushed in embarrassment like two guilty teenagers, their eyes flicking back down on mortified realization to see Garrett and Gabriel still staring up at them with wide, identical grins on their adorable, baby faces. It was Garrett who had spoken and he was giggling and pointing curiously at them, clapping his hands to himself.

Biting his lip, Draco held back a genuine laugh when he saw the blush on his wife's face – along with the way she was fanning herself and trying to adjust her Unspeakable robes. Pointedly ignoring Draco's teasing smirk, Harry knelt back down onto the floor and gave her twin sons an overly bright smile to hide the obvious embarrassed blush that was still on her cheeks.

"Kids…Say goodbye to your father first. I'll be taking you with me to the Ministry of Magic! Isn't that exciting?" She asked and at the words 'Ministry of Magic', she didn't have to wait long before Garrett and Gabriel both grinned excitedly and simultaneously rushed to give their father one last hug.

"_YAAAAAY! MASHIK! MASHIK! MASHIK! BYE-BYE DADDY! BYE-BYE! BYE-BYE!"_ Garrett and Gabriel both sang out simultaneously, running right at Draco and flinging their tiny arms around his knees – accidentally winding their father and knocking him onto the carpeted floor in their excitement.

Harry smothered a laugh behind her hand as Draco growled and struggled to pick himself back up – all the while trying to glare at his sons but failing miserably. He eventually began laughing when both toddlers tackled him to the floor and threw their arms ecstatically around their father's neck.

"_BYE-BYE DADDY! BYE-BYE DADDY!" _They cheered out in unison and when they wouldn't let up after about three more minutes of hugging him like this, Draco finally looked up at his laughing wife and gave her a pointed, helpless glare – desperately trying to free himself from his sons' arms.

"_POTTER! A LITTLE HELP HERE?!" _

* * *

_"Hold the elevator, Neville!" _Harry called out desperately as she rounded the corner of the Ministry lobby with Gabriel balanced carefully with one arm and Garrett holding onto her free hand. The two-year-old was trying to follow his mother with smaller toddles of his own along the floor.

Looking at her with a sympathetic, amused grin, Neville reached a hand out and held the Ministry elevator doors open for her, waiting until Harry finally managed to clamber in and set Gabriel down onto the floor. She muttered a quick thank you to the other former Gryffindor before leaning against the elevator wall, breathing heavily in exhaustion.

Neville looked awkwardly at the two Malfoy toddlers – both of which already bore such an uncanny resemblance to their father – and gulped nervously. The blonde two-year-olds seemed to be staring up at him with the same mischievous smirk Draco used to give him back at Hogwarts back when the notorious Slytherin would bully him around. It made him feel really uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Harry failed to notice his nervousness and gave him an easy grin, greeting him with a light punch to the shoulder. "Hey Neville! How's Luna and little Daniel? Are you three coming to little Elliot's birthday party later?" She asked him curiously; watching as Neville carefully edged further away from the twins again before he looked up and answered her.

"Luna's just fine, Harry…And yep, we'll be there later. Daniel's really excited about it too. He's just about two months older than your sons here. Luna says he looks a lot like me but acts a lot like her." He told her, earning a fond smile from his former housemate. Harry tightened her grip on Garrett and Gabriel's hands to get them to stay still before she got to answer Neville's comment.

"I'd love to see him again. Maybe you could bring him to play with Garret and Gabriel sometime?" She asked him and though Neville flinched again at the wide grin Garrett was giving him, he forced himself to nod anyway. "S—sure, Harry…I _guess. _S—say, what are the twins doing here anyway? Are they allowed in the Unspeakable department?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Harry shook her head hastily and sighed, tightening her grip around Garrett's hand again when her older son began to squirm impatiently beside her.

"No, they're not. I'm actually heading over to the Day Care Center on the 50th floor to drop them off for about two hours. I just need to finish a couple more assignments before I'm done for the day." She answered, wincing when Gabriel began to whine loudly in growing impatience as well.

Neville laughed at her expression and shrugged, giving her another sympathetic smile. "It must be hard to balance it all, huh? I heard from the other Aurors that you're in line to be Head Unspeakable next year…Congratulations on that." He told her, earning another grin from Harry.

"Yeah…I am. Thanks, Neville. I heard you're in line to be Head Officer yourself. Second-in-command, Neville. Good job!" When Neville nodded and grinned back, Harry laughed and continued.

"Actually, Hermione is being trained to be Head Officer in her department too…And Ron is going to be Head of his in a year just like me." She told him, blissfully unaware of the fact that Garrett was scowling up at her in impatience and was strengthening his struggles against her.

Neville noticed this, however, and flicked his eyes back to the green-robed toddler. Raising a single eyebrow, he chuckled and indicated to Gabriel with a nod. "How can you tell your sons apart, Harry? They look _completely _identical…I don't know how you manage to keep track of them." He mused, causing Harry to grin and answer him by pointing to her sons' baby robes.

"Mostly we just go by color, Neville. Garrett's the one in green; Gabriel's the one in blue. When I get confused, I just try to wait and see how they act. Garrett's usually the troublemaker while Gabe just sits down in a corner and scribbles." She told him, earning another laugh from her friend.

Neville was just about to make another comment about the twins when the elevator chose that exact moment to stop. The doors slid open, revealing Hermione's flushed, exasperated face. At the sight of her two friends, she gave them both a smile and entered hurriedly into the elevator.

"Harry! Neville! I'm glad I ran into you two…You're coming to Elliot's birthday party later right?" Both former Gryffindors nodded at this, waiting until Hermione had chosen her floor on the elevator buttons. When she turned back around to face them, she noticed the twins for the first time.

"_Oh…_I didn't realize you'd brought your sons, Harry." Hermione smiled and bent down to pinch their cheeks, giving both whining toddlers a kiss on the cheek. "Hey there cuties…How are you? Aw, don't you just look so handsome in your baby robes?" She cooed, causing Neville to roll his eyes in amusement at her voice and Harry to chuckle at his best friend's coddling.

Looking down at her two blonde sons, Harry gave the squirming twins an encouraging grin. "Guys, your Aunt Hermione just gave you a compliment. What are you supposed to say?" She asked them in what she hoped was a stern, parental voice – peering down expectantly at them.

Gabriel took one look at his mother's face before looking back at Hermione and giving her an adorable – though slightly hesitant smile. "_SENKYOU BERMUCH, AUNT MY-NEE…" _He murmured before giggling, gurgling and burying his face shyly into his mother's left leg.

Hermione completely melted at this while Harry and Neville both laughed, switching their attention to Garrett instead. The older Malfoy son was looking up at Hermione with his chin raised – an expression scarily reminiscent of his Slytherin father etched onto his aristocratic features.

Harry narrowed her eyes at him in warning. "_Garrett…_Your Aunt Hermione just said you looked handsome. What are you supposed to say back?_"_

Garrett blinked and stared up at Hermione. "_OKAY_…_YOR WEL-COM!" _He exclaimed loudly in a proud voice and as much as Neville was shocked at the toddler's staggering Malfoy arrogance at the age of _TWO, _he couldn't help laughing when he saw the miffed expression on Hermione's face.

Harry slapped a hand against her forehead in exasperation, turning to give her best friend an exasperated and slightly apologetic grimace. "Ehehe…Sorry, 'Mione. I should have warned you. I'm still trying to 'work out the kinks' in this kid." She kidded, indicating to Garrett giggling beside her.

Hermione sighed and nodded while Neville just sniggered again and reached a hand down to ruffle Garrett's silver blonde hair. "Saying 'thank you' after receiving something isn't really that hard to teach, Harry. Maybe your son really _is _just as naturally arrogant as his father— _OW!_"

Neville's sentence broke off and ended up in a sharp cry of pain when Garrett had scowled and stomped on his left foot – startling both his mother and Hermione as they turned at the loud sound.

"_GARRETT! APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!" _

Gabriel flinched at the sound of his mother's scolding voice and whimpered softly, looking up at Neville with glassy green eyes. "_SOWWEE?_" He offered in a meek voice but at this, Harry shook her head even more fiercely, ignoring Hermione's giggling as she tugged on Garrett's hand again.

"_NOT _you, Gabriel! Garrett, I said apologize!" Harry repeated in an angrier voice, shooting Neville an apologetic look when she saw him wincing and rubbing his sore foot in pain. Garrett glared up at his mother and made a face, his scowl deepening as he stomped his sneakers onto the floor.

"_NO!"_

Harry's jaw tightened in growing impatience. "Garrett, I _SAID—"_

"_NO! NO! NO! DOWANNA! DOWANNA! DOWANNA!" _

"_GARRETT, I'M WARNING YOU! I SAID APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL GET A TIME OUT!"_

Gabriel began to cry at his mother's raised voice while Garrett just stomped his feet angrily against the elevator floor again. "_NO! NO! NO! DOWANNA! MOMMY STUPID! NO! NO! NO!" _

"_ARGH! WHY YOU—"_

Neville coughed awkwardly, cutting off the rest of Harry's angry growl and directing her attention to him instead. "Harry, forget about it. It's really okay, no harm done. It wasn't really that big a deal anyway. I forgot that you already warned me about messing up Garrett's hair before—"

Harry's eyes were still flashing with mild anger but she sighed and nodded, reaching down and pulling Gabriel's against her so he could bury his crying face into her robes. "I'm sorry, Neville…I'm still a bit horrible at all this 'mother stuff'. Lately, the twins have been such a handful—"

"Let it go, Harry. They're _TWO. _They're at the stage when they try to test their limits by testing your patience and screaming 'NO' in your ear. I've been there." Hermione told her firmly, pausing when the elevator door opened and a couple of Ministry officials clambered in.

Harry winced when Garrett began struggling again and trying to pull his hand away from hers.

"They don't even _WANT_ to listen to me, Hermione! They only listen to Draco and lately, they've been acting as if they don't even want to be around me that much." She grumbled but instead of comforting her, Harry was shocked when Hermione just turned and gave her a pointed glare.

"Well, what do you expect? They always _SEE _their father as opposed to their _MOTHER_. In all honesty, I think you're beginning to become a workaholic, Harry. It isn't good for you anymore." She retorted bluntly and if anything, her words irritated Harry even more.

"What is _THAT _supposed to mean?" She asked sharply, her eyes narrowing slowly at Hermione.

Neville shifted uncomfortably between them and cleared his throat as the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. "I'll be going now, guys. I'll see you tonight." He excused himself hastily, not bothering to wait for either woman's response as he exited towards the Auror department.

Once the doors had closed and the elevator began moving upwards again, Hermione turned to meet Harry's accusatory glare. Sighing, the Zabini Mistress took one look at her friend's angry expression before gesturing to the two impatiently squirming toddlers beside her.

"I just…I didn't mean any harm in saying that, Harry. I just meant that…Well…Perhaps your sons don't listen to you because you don't spend much time with them. You've been really busy these last few months that even Ron and I are a little concerned about you." She explained, making sure she chose her words carefully lest she incite Harry's well-known temper.

Unfortunately, Harry seemed to grow angrier anyway and her glare at Hermione intensified. Ignoring Garrett and Gabriel's loud, excessive whining, she gave Hermione a spiteful sneer

"Give me a break, Hermione! Just to remind you, I wasn't born a real woman like _YOU _were. I don't _HAVE _maternal instincts and nor did I grow up with the notion of being a mother! I never prepared for the fact that I may have to balance my career with my children like most women do because I grew up a _MALE_!" She snapped angrily, ignoring the looks she was receiving from the other Ministry officials gathered in the elevator around them.

Hermione flinched at the harsh tone of her voice. "Harry, that wasn't what I meant at all—"

Harry silenced her by shaking her head. "My job is the only…_ONLY _connection I have left to my remaining sense of masculinity and I intend to keep it that way. I _LOVE _my job, alright?! I'm still a man inside and I will continue to work like one. Get off my damn case!" She finished coldly.

Before Hermione had a chance to apologize, the elevator doors had opened again and Harry was already storming out in a heated rage, pulling Garrett and Gabriel gently along by their hands behind her. She was just about to turn a corner towards the Ministry Day Care Center when Gabriel accidentally tripped on his loose shoelace, causing his mother to stop and let go of Garrett's hand so she could catch Gabriel before he fell to the ground.

This proved to be a _BAD _idea, however, because the minute she did, Garrett grinned widely and immediately took off running from her towards the other direction.

"_GARRETT! COME BACK HERE!" _

Harry pulled Gabriel into her arms and quickly jumped back to her feet, scowling and taking off after the rogue toddler. Her older son was giggling as he toddled his way in running baby steps down the busy corridor – causing several passing Ministry officials to trip or bump into each other as they swerved and maneuvered their way around his tiny form.

Shooting the passing officials an embarrassed, apologetic cringe, Harry was just about to turn a corner to the direction Garrett had headed off when she stopped and froze. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Garrett a couple a feet away from her – held up in place by his collar by a handsome, dark-haired wizard in Ministry robes who was giving her an amused grin.

"…Lost something, Mistress Malfoy…?"

Still a bit confused, Harry walked closer to the man in inspection and frowned – trying to remember where she had seen his familiar face before. The man gave her a friendly, though slightly uncertain smile, and gently offered her the struggling toddler he was still holding, chuckling when Garrett's sneakered feet kicked wildly at him from where they dangled in the air.

"_NO! NO! DOWANNA! DOWANNA! NO!" _

Harry set Gabriel back down onto the floor behind her and took Garrett into her arms, ignoring the toddler's loud screaming protests as she continued to look suspiciously at the man in front of her. The man smiled back and nodded, gesturing to Garrett and Gabriel with an amused grin.

"Handsome little boys you've got there…I think the last time I saw them, they weren't actually born yet." He kidded and the minute he said this, Harry's green eyes finally lit up in recognition.

"_Of course!_ We've met before!" Setting Garrett back down on the floor beside Gabriel, she latched on securely to both her sons' hands before turning back to give the man in front of her a friendly smile. "_Max_ right? Maximillian Thornton? You were the one I met in Borgin and Burkes three years ago." She mused, wincing when Garrett _and _Gabriel began to tug on her hands again.

Max smiled back at her and nodded, running a hand through his hair before shoving his hands boyishly into the pocket of his robes. "I'm honored you still remember my name, Mistress Malfoy. Especially after the scene your husband and I made in there, I was kind of thinking you'd purposely forgotten about the whole incident." He kidded easily, earning an embarrassed laugh from Harry.

She cringed and shook her head at the memory, offering him an apologetic smile. "Yeah…I remember now. I'm still really sorry about what happened back then. Draco was being a bit of a jerk but I'm sure he didn't mean it—"

Max' eyes hardened but he gave her a tight smile and shrugged either way. "Oh I'm sure he did, Mistress Malfoy. But that doesn't really matter to me; I'm used to it by now." He answered awkwardly. Not knowing how or what to respond, Harry offered him another small smile instead.

"It's _Jaimee_, Mister Thornton…Or _Harry_ actually. It's the same thing. Uhm…What are you doing here? Do you work at the Ministry?" She asked him, flicking her eyes down to glare warningly at her sons again when they resumed their struggling against her hold on them.

"Call me Max, Harry." Max told her before indicating to the department behind him. "I just transferred here from the Ministry of Magic branch in France about a week ago. I work with Hermione Granger at the CISO department as an Archives Analyst. She's a close friend of yours, right?"

Harry nodded, sighing when Gabriel began to whine loudly again. "Yes, she is. I think she _did _mention something last week about working with a new partner in the office…" She finally bent down and gathered Gabriel up in her arms, using her free hand to keep Garrett firmly in place.

Turning back to Max, she nodded and gave him one last smile. "Well…Thanks very much for the help with Garrett, Max. I'd better go and drop these rascals off at the Day Care Center. It was really nice seeing you again." She told him politely and she was just about to walk away when Max called out to her again, drawing her attention his slightly sheepish grin.

"Oh uhm…By any chance, if you run into Hermione today…Could you please tell her that I'll be a little late to her son's party tonight?"

Harry turned around in surprise, blinking a couple of times at him before she shrugged and gave him a small smile. "No problem. Actually, I'm going too so I'll probably see you there."

She gave him one last nod before she finally turned and walked off in the other direction, Garrett trailing slowly behind her and Gabriel balanced carefully in her arms. As she walked away, she failed to realize that both Gabriel and Garrett looked back and shot Max an identical scowl, sticking their tongues out at him and causing the man to stiffen and scowl back in irritation.

"_Ugh…Malfoys…"_

* * *

**A/N:** Just to clarify, the twins seem to be closer to Draco because they hardly see their mother at all. In other words, the main parent figure to them – as of the moment – is their father. That's why struggle against Harry all the time. (Bad Harry!) And also, before any of you ask, **NO, NEITHER OF THEM WILL CHEAT ON EACH OTHER. **I don't have the stomach to write cheating and I particularly hate cheating!Draco in some other stories I've read. He was raised better than that by Lucius and Narcissa and he's not that kind of person. :P

**Next Chapter: **Elliot's Birthday Party, Some Anton/Ginny, and a little of Jealous!Draco

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! CHEERS!**


	12. Children and Strangers

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Uhm. Hope you guys don't hate me for this chapter. After all, every story has to have a conflict for it to be good, right? ;) Enjoy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Children and Strangers **

Ginny narrowed her eyes at the entrance of the Zabini Manor ballroom for the fifth time that evening, her gaze searching the crowd of entering guests for a sign of her supposed husband. _Where the bloody hell is that prick?! I've been waiting here for two hours!_ She thought angrily to herself, checking her watch again and noting to herself that Anton had promised to arrive hours ago.

Beside her, the other two Malfoy wives, Annabelle and Helena, shot her a worried glance from where they were standing beside their own husbands near the refreshment table. Ginny gave them a reassuring smile but they excused themselves from their husbands anyway, rushing over in concern.

"Ginny, are you okay? Anton was supposed to have been here _hours ago! _Don't you _dare_ bother trying to cover for him this time!" Helena whispered angrily as she reached her, pulling Ginny aside by her arm so that they stood in the far corner of the room. Ginny smiled weakly again but before she could answer, Annabelle chimed in as well in a similar angry tone of voice.

"William just told me that he saw Anton with his mistress last night after work…He is _SUCH _a jerk, Ginny! I don't know _WHY _you put up with him all the time." She raged, earning a small smirk from Ginny as she looked at her two friends' angry faces. Behind them, she could also make out Lorraine's questioning gaze from where she was standing beside Ron across the room.

_Why DO I put up with him?_ _Why do I even bother coming to these parties at all? I don't even feel like a genuine Malfoy given the state of things. _Ginny thought to herself silently, turning back to glare at the entrance of the ballroom in helpless exasperation at the thought of her husband.

Over the two years she had spent in the Malfoy family following her surprise wedding to Anton – a somewhat reluctant wedding from both his family and hers at that – she had strived to keep a safe distance from the rest of the Malfoys as much as possible given their hostility towards her own family.

Since her wedding to Anton had been so sudden and unexpected, many of the Malfoys seemed to think she had somehow coerced the half-veela into the marriage and didn't take too kindly to her presence altogether. To be quite honest, she didn't take too kindly to Anton's family either.

The males Malfoys were, in her opinion, nothing but arrogant and obnoxious _bastards_.

Although the others, like Byron and Reggie, were much friendlier and made an actual effort to talk to her every now and then, Draco, William, Lucius, Louis and the rest of the males ignored her presence completely. It didn't help that the family seemed to be angry with Anton as well and regarded his marriage to Ginny as a fake one he staged for his benefit – which was actually the truth.

With the exception of Narcissa and Lizette, Ginny was severely grateful that most of the Malfoy women were, surprisingly enough, _human._ Harry and Lorraine stayed by her side during family functions to make her feel comfortable but unfortunately, Harry hardly ever _was _at family gathering these days that Ginny had a difficult time with the Malfoys anyway – especially since Draco seemed even _nastier _to everyone else in the family whenever Harry wasn't by his side.

Ginny had eventually developed a friendship with Annabelle and Helena, William and Reggie's wives respectively. The two women were her constant companions during most family social gatherings and would often help her out in many awkward situations. Ginny hadn't expected, however, to develop a fondness for Genevieve Malfoy – perhaps one of the nicest women she had ever met.

_Which is SUCH a shame because Lawrence is probably the worst Malfoy of them all. _Ginny thought to herself with a scoff, shaking her head at the thought of her grandfather-in-law. The man _scared _her…and that was saying something because Ginny was usually _never_ intimidated by anyone.

She could easily understand now _why _Anton often spoke of his grandfather with such fear and child-like respect. The man simply _commanded _authority with his presence and pretty much still exerted his influence on the family whenever he was given the opportunity.

His grandmother, however, Anton spoke of with an unmistakable gentleness in his eyes that Ginny found quite endearing. During the two years that she had spent in the Malfoy family, it wasn't hard to see that Anton was Genevieve's favorite grandson and this was shown clearly in the way she showered Anton with more affection and concern than any of the other Malfoy sons.

This was also perhaps the same reason Genevieve seemed to show more interest and concern for Ginny than any of the other Malfoy wives in general. Over the time she had spent married to Anton, Ginny couldn't deny that she had grown very close to Genevieve and often sought her advice about different matters pertaining to Anton whenever she could.

She was the _only _reason Ginny had managed to last in the Malfoy family this long.

"Anton _is _coming tonight right, Ginny? Were you able to remind him earlier today?" Helena asked her again, breaking through Ginny's thoughts and causing the redhead to blink at her in confusion. When she understood the other woman's question, she nodded and looked at her watch.

"I told him _specifically _that the party starts at nine in the evening. He's probably just finishing up some work or something in the office, Helena. I'm sure he'll get here." Ginny told her with a forced smile and nod, causing both Helena and Annabelle to raise their eyebrows at her in disbelief.

"As much as the family keeps a tight lip about it for the sake of preventing gossip, we all know about the state of your marriage, Ginny…And about Anton's libertine ways. You don't have to bother hiding it from us." Annabelle told her with a pointed look, earning another sigh from Ginny in response.

She shook her head and held up the glass of champagne she held to her lips to take a sip. "I'm sure he'll be here soon, guys. Don't worry…Go back to your husbands over there. I'm sure they're already missing your presence." She quipped teasingly, causing them to give her an uncertain frown.

"But—"

Ginny rolled her eyes and ushered them forward, already turning to walk away before they could protest. "Go on already, you two! I'll be fine, I promise. Anton will get here soon. He's probably on his way now as we speak." She smiled reassuringly at them and walked away before they could say anything else, making her way over to the front of the ballroom towards the other Malfoys.

She was just about to help herself to another glass of champagne from one of the passing house elves when a familiar voice suddenly spoke up next to her, causing her to jump and whirl around in surprise just in time to meet Byron Malfoy's friendly, grinning face. He smiled at her and chuckled, reaching over and handing her the extra glass of champagne in his hand.

"A pleasant evening to you, Ginny…" He greeted easily as she took the champagne from his hand and helped herself to a small sip. "How goes you and your never ending marital trials with my idiotic, playboy cousin? I see he isn't here yet…Do you have any idea where he is?" He asked nonchalantly, watching as Ginny sighed and offered him a shrug in response.

"I talked to him this morning and he said he'll be coming from work. I'm sure he'll be here soon, Byron. He probably just got held up on the way." She answered him calmly, causing the metamorphagus to scoff and offer her a conspiratorial wink.

"Well if it's any consolation…I saw Anton this afternoon just before going back to work and he was sporting two very distinct black eyes…Any idea where those may have come from?" He asked innocently, trying not to smirk when he saw Ginny blushing in mild embarrassment.

She bit her lip and took another sip of champagne before she answered.

"Yeah…About that… Uhm…Fred and George _kind _of found out about his little affair with that Italian opera singer last week and well…Let's just say that I wasn't aware of their little stunt until Anton had come home with his face all bruised and his bones all broken." She winced after she had said this but Byron just snorted with laughter and shook his head.

"That's _classic! _So _that's _why I saw the Weasley twins looking so smug tonight." He shook his head again and gave her another sympathetic smile. "Why do you put up with it all, Ginny? Anton knows _nothing _about the meaning of a purely monogamous relationship…I doubt he _ever _will." He drawled. Ginny held back an irritated retort and set her empty glass of champagne back down.

"It's fine, Byron! Anton is just…He's very misunderstood and I'm sure that he'll eventually settle down and grow up. Excuse me…Let me just—" She didn't bother finishing her sentence as she whirled around and walked off, ignoring the confused expression on Byron's face as she hurriedly made her way through the crowd of guests towards the opposite end of the ballroom.

She passed by several more of her friends along the way – including Harry, Ron, and Hermione but she ignored their questioning looks and hid her face, stopping only when she had reached the corner of the room. Just as she was sure she had gotten away from all the unwanted attention, she stiffened again when she heard another familiar voice calling out her name.

"Ginny! Sweetheart… What are you doing here all alone? Where's Anton? Late again?"

In spite of herself, Ginny couldn't prevent a small smile from breaking out onto her face as she slowly whirled around and met Genevieve Malfoy's concerned features. The elderly woman was peering curiously at her and was frowning in slight disapproval and it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she already knew the answer to her own question.

Nevertheless, she smiled warmly at Ginny and pulled the other woman into a tight hug. Ginny sighed in relief and hugged her back tightly, inwardly grateful for her sudden presence. When they pulled away, Genevieve smiled at her again and gestured nonchalantly to her gown and appearance.

"You look beautiful, darling…That dress really accentuates the color of your hair." She gushed in a teasing voice, causing Ginny to laugh in response and give her a grateful nod.

"Thank you, Grandmother. I picked it out myself…Actually…I wasn't so sure about coming here tonight at all. I mean…It's not like Anton and I have any children to bring along so what was the use right?" She kidded but Genevieve frowned at her and raised an eyebrow in thought.

"Speaking of which…I was just meaning to ask you, Ginevra. When _are _you and Anton planning to give me grandchildren?" Ginny blushed at her question but she continued anyway.

"Why…If I'm not mistaken, you've been married to my grandson for _two years _now…Surely the idea of children has crossed your mind? Or are you busy with work these days?" She asked kindly, causing the flush in Ginny's cheeks to darken even more in mortification.

Laughing nervously, she coughed and tried to find the correct words to say. "U—uhm…W—well…That is…Grandmother, I—_Children! _Ehehe…The thought hasn't popped itself up in our immediate plans yet. Although we _do _want them, of course! Just… Not now, I suppose." She reassured her hastily, failing to see the amused twinkle in Genevieve's eyes.

The older woman held back a giggle and nodded in understanding; taking pity on Ginny's blushing face as she effortlessly changed the subject. "I see…Well in that case, how are your jobs then? Anton is a great diplomat but I hear you also just got promoted. Congratulations, darling!" She gushed and at her words, Ginny smiled widely again and nodded in affirmation.

"Just this week actually, Grandmother…I'm now Assistant Editor-in-Chief. I'm really excited about it too. From what my boss tells me, I'll be given a lot of interesting articles and issues to write about—" She failed to finish the rest of her sentence as a voice suddenly cut her off from behind, causing her to jump in shock when a warm hand wrapped itself tightly around her arm.

"Grandmother! Ginny, love…I'm so sorry I'm late again!"

Ginny and Genevieve both looked up and found themselves staring at the handsome, slightly flushed face of Anton Malfoy – who at that moment had just arrived and was now smiling and waving sheepishly to several of his friends around the Zabini ballroom. After nodding in acknowledgement to Blaise and Hermione across the room, he rewarded both women with a devastatingly handsome smile.

"Ah…What a lovely sight…My two most favorite…most _beautiful_ girls in the world." He greeted in a teasing tone of voice, bending down to place a kiss onto the back of Ginny and Genevieve's gloved hands. Rolling her eyes fondly at her grandson's antics, Genevieve shared a similar smirk of amusement with Ginny and shook her head at Anton as he straightened himself back up.

"Anton Louis Malfoy…I'll bet you're just saying that to charm your way out of your lateness again, aren't you?" Genevieve pretended to glare at him after she had said this, earning another handsome, slightly sheepish smile from Anton. "Oh you…The tongue of the devil, I tell you Ginny…I don't know _why _you married him." She teased further, this time eliciting a laugh from both Ginny and Anton when they heard the disapproving tone of her voice.

Anton ignored Ginny's pointed smirk at him and shook his head, pretending to give his grandmother a childish look of guilt. "Grandmother! I am appalled you would think that! I meant what I said—" He paused and turned to Ginny, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers together.

Ginny flushed and quickly averted her eyes, oblivious to the way Genevieve was watching the two of them with a happy, knowing smile on her face. Anton failed to see her expression, however, and continued to speak anyway, his eyes still lingering intently on Ginny's embarrassed features.

"—you two really _ARE _my two best and most beautiful girls..." He paused again and turned to Genevieve, giving his grandmother a peck on the cheek and chuckling when all she did was to roll her eyes at him again. "My _beautiful_ grandmother…And my beautiful Ginny…" He turned to Ginny and looked right into her bright blue eyes. "My best friend…My better half…My wife…"

They stared at each other for a few minutes – their fingers still tightly intertwined – before Genevieve finally giggled and broke the silence, turning to give Ginny a conspiratorial wink. "He may talk with such a graceful tongue _now, _Ginny…But believe me when I say that Anton used to be _SO _shy around women back when he was a little boy. He was always stuttering and blushing and—"

"_Grandmother."_ Anton interrupted her hastily, ignoring his wife's smirking features as he turned back and playfully stuck his tongue out at Genevieve in childish humor. "Can we _not _go into the past? I'd rather my wife 'believes' me to be the naturally talented charmer I appear to be." He quipped with an easy grin, causing both women to laugh gently to themselves again.

Ginny finally spoke up for the first time since he arrived, drawing her husband's attention immediately to her mirthful grin. "I never said I thought of you as a 'naturally talented charmer', Anton. I believe the right words I used to call you were 'sleazy' and 'cheesy'." She teased and at Anton's slightly miffed expression, Genevieve laughed again and shook her head at their banter.

Anton raised an eyebrow in indignation and scowled to himself. "Great…I'm being double-teamed by my wife and my grandmother. Not really something comforting for my masculinity but I'll let it slip this time." He kidded again, causing his grandmother to roll her eyes at him again.

She stepped forward and began to usher the two towards the dance floor, grabbing the drink Anton had in his hand and setting it down onto the nearby table. "Oh _you…_Stop talking now Anton and ask your lovely wife to dance! It was about time you showed up! Poor Ginny here was waiting all night for you and to be honest, she looks way too beautiful tonight not to be on the dance floor." She scolded the blonde half-veela lightly, causing Anton to chuckle in agreement.

He turned to stare intently at Ginny's flushed face, his lips quirking upwards into a small smile as he reached up and tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. When she flinched and looked away from him, Anton laughed and turned back to meet his grandmother's pointed glare.

"Too true, grandmother…How foolish of me. Ginny…I apologize for my tardiness. Allow me to make up for it…Can I have this dance, love?" He asked, raising a single hand and offering it to her with a handsome, roguish grin. Genevieve watched with a smile as Ginny looked up and nodded, easily slipping her gloved hand into Anton's offered one with a mischievous smirk.

"Buy me that beautiful blue satin dress I saw yesterday, Malfoy. _THEN _we can call it even." She retorted bluntly with an innocent smile. Anton didn't even bother hiding the slightly choked-up, surprised laugh that had escaped his lips at his wife's subversive response – the reaction on his face causing his grandmother to erupt into another fit of highly amused giggles.

Anton shook his head to himself, laughing under his breath as he took Ginny's hand into his, excused himself from his grandmother and slowly began to pull her towards the dance floor. Once they were there, however, and Anton began to lead Ginny into an easy, graceful waltz, the smile on her face eventually began to fade and her eyes slowly dimmed in disappointment.

Once again, the unfamiliar scent of another woman's perfume lingered on her husband's robes.

She hid her face from him when she realized this, looking up over his shoulder and forcing her attention on the crowd of guests gathered near the end of the ballroom. From several feet away, she failed to notice that Genevieve Malfoy was still looking intently at them – a sad smile on her elderly features as she caught the look of unmistakable pain on Ginny's face.

* * *

"Garrett and Gabriel are both so handsome, Drakie…They look so much like you." Pansy cooed with a high-pitched giggle, directing a flirtatious smile at Draco from where she and many other pureblooded aristocrats had gathered in a small circle near the very end of the Zabini Ballroom.

Draco tried not to roll his eyes at her words while Blaise and Daphne simply smirked at each other in amusement, shaking their heads at Pansy's never-ending obsession with the former Prince of Slytherin. Oswald Cunningham didn't seem to appreciate his wife's open flirting towards one of his friends and scowled, gesturing to his son in the large children's playpen in the corner of the room.

"No offense, Malfoy but _MY_ son Baxter is obviously the most handsome boy in there. He takes after his father in nearly everything! Look at him!" He boasted with a loud scoff, directing all the adults' attention to the group of playing children several feet away. A 3-year-old Baxter Parkinson Cunningham sat right in the middle of the large playpen – locked in what appeared to be a fierce tug-of-war with 3-year-old Chessie Malfoy Weasley for an enchanted toy broomstick.

After several minutes of this, Chessie finally giggled and let go of her end of the broomstick – causing Baxter to cry out loud when he ended up toppling backwards and tripping on his feet onto the carpeted floor. Draco and Blaise both stifled their amused sniggers behind their hands when Baxter instantly began to wail, causing Pansy to wince and immediately rush to her son's side.

Oswald glared at them but Draco just smirked back, raising an eyebrow mockingly at him. "You're right, Cunningham. Baxter _does _take after his father. He just got beaten in strength by a little girl." He drawled sarcastically, causing the rest of the purebloods around them to laugh again.

Daphne smiled at Blaise and took a sip from her glass of champagne, gesturing across the room to the playpen of children. "Elliot is really handsome, Blaise. He just turned four right? Has he shown any signs of magic yet?" She asked curiously, causing Blaise's eyes to soften as he watched his four-year-old son now playing with Chessie and three-year-old James Vallehan Black.

Elliot Granger Zabini was rolling a magical Quaffle back and forth to James and Chessie, pausing every now and then to look up and shoot his mother a wide, toothy baby smile across the room. Hermione smiled back and waved at him; looking away from her conversation with Lorraine and Ron every now and then to make sure she kept a close watch on her four-year-old son.

Blaise glanced back at his friends and grinned proudly, nodding before taking a sip of his drink. "He's started to make random things float up every now and then but that's just about it. He's _really _clever though. I reckon he gets it from his mother." He mused, pausing as Pansy finally rejoined them.

Edward Haskins, one of Draco and Blaise's pureblooded childhood friends, chuckled and gave Blaise a knowing wink. "Any plans of following him up with another kid sometime soon, Zabini? Your lovely wife is quite the sight for sore eyes as well…If you know what I mean." He drawled with a meaningful glance at Hermione, causing both Pansy and Daphne to stiffen in affronted indignation.

Scowling, Pansy latched onto her husband's arm and sulked to herself. "Sure…If you like _mudbloods_. Granger isn't really all _that _pretty…Right, darling?" She looked up at Oswald's face with a pout, failing to see the death glare Blaise had sent her at her use of the word 'mudblood'.

"Of course not, my sweets—" Oswald failed to answer his wife's question properly when Blaise cut him off with a dark growl, drawing both Oswald's and Pansy's attention to his angry sneer.

"Parkinson, I _TOLD _you never to call my wife that foul name. And I _know _my wife is gorgeous, Haskins but you'd better keep your eyes to yourself before I punch them senseless!" He snapped, causing the other men to roll their eyes and Draco to smirk at his best friend's jealousy.

The Malfoy Head remained silent and simply listened to his friends' conversations, flicking his eyes every now and then to where his twin sons were busy playing with an enchanted set of toy dragons in the middle of the children's playpen. Every couple of minutes, Garrett or Gabriel would suddenly look up and search around the room for their father with panicked, wide green eyes – only to relax and smile adorably at him moments later when they were reassured of his nearby presence.

Draco offered Garrett a small reassuring smile just as the blonde toddler looked up at him. His older son giggled at this and smiled back, waving happily at his father before he turned his avid attention back to catching the toy dragons flying around and above his and his brother's head.

Eventually, Draco's gaze drifted and he found himself staring openly at his wife across the room instead. Jaimee was too busy talking and laughing with her Gryffindor friends to notice him but Draco watched her anyway, silently admiring the way she wrinkled her nose cutely when she laughed and the way her eyes lit up whenever she was talking about something she genuinely liked.

Her long black hair was down and carefree as usual and she wore a very simple green evening dress that wrapped tightly around her body, drawing attention to her slim waist and her long legs. Draco already sensed at _least _a dozen pairs of male eyes – including his own friends – lingering on his wife's lovely face from all around the room. That thought alone irritated him with irrational jealousy.

As always, however, the sight of her brought an unexplainable surge of happiness in his chest and he had to force himself to look away from her to gather some coherent thoughts. _I hardly get to see her like this anymore…I'd forgotten how beautiful she was._ He thought sadly, flicking his eyes back up and watching with weary gray eyes as Jaimee laughed again at something Neville was saying.

"Hey Malfoy!"

Oswald broke through Draco's musings and sneered angrily at him, obviously still not over the fact that Pansy was _still _staring at Draco with a hint of admiration gleaming in her eyes. Highly annoyed, Draco reluctantly tore his eyes away from Jaimee and glared back impatiently at Oswald.

"Speaking of gorgeous wives…I'm surprised yours came tonight. She was always good for some eye-candy. Where is she anyway? And why isn't she with _YOU_?" He mocked, unwittingly causing Draco's eyes to flash in irritation. His clenched his jaw and forced himself to squelch back the interesting stream of curse words that were threatening to come out of his mouth.

Instead, he gave Oswald a deceptively calm smile. "She's right across the room, Cunningham. If you so much as try to go near her again tonight… So help me, I will pull out your bulging eyes and make you eat them as your so-called '_eye-candy'._" He mocked in a similar sarcastic tone of voice, causing Oswald to flush in anger and the men around them to snigger amongst themselves.

Just as Oswald looked on the verge of another angry retort, William Malfoy beat him to it and gave his older cousin a grin, pointing to his own son in the playpen across the room.

"My son seems to like playing with Garrett and Gabriel, Draco. They're probably the only other children he plays with. Do you think it's because they recognize the Malfoy genes in each other?" He kidded, finally earning a genuine laugh from Draco as he turned his attention to his twin sons again.

Gabriel was currently locked in what looked like an 'intelligent baby conversation' with blonde, pig-tailed Angelica Malfoy – Reggie and Helena's daughter, while Garrett was now chasing toy dragons around the playpen with Tristan Malfoy – William's two-year-old blonde son with Annabelle.

All four toddlers stood out so easily in the playpen amidst the other children because of the striking silver-blonde shade of their hair and their pale, distinct Malfoy features. Several more young children of Blaise and Hermione's other friends were gathered around the playpen but Draco didn't recognize most of them, his attention focused mostly on his twin two-year-olds.

Just a couple of feet away from Garrett and Gabriel, Chessie and Victoire– Bill and Fleur's 4-year-old daughter – also stood out with their flaming red Weasley hair. Both girls took after Lorraine and Fleur's veela features. Their pale skin was without the usual freckles of most Weasleys and their hair a fiery red but with the sleekness and texture of their part-Veela mothers.

Even at a young age, it was easy to predict that the two Weasley daughters would undoubtedly be two incredibly beautiful young women when they grew up.

"Those two Weasley girls turned out really beautiful, huh? I reckon I just may have found my son's future wife." Edmund Hatchetson, another pureblooded Head and one of Blaise's business partners, drawled out loud, earning himself a glare from both Daphne and Millicent at his words.

"So what are you saying? Are you saying _MY _daughter isn't pretty?! Is _THAT _it? Is she not 'good enough' for your prissy little son? He's not _THAT _handsome too you know!" Daphne snapped irritably, failing to see the highly amused smirk Blaise was trying to hide behind his hand.

Edmund looked back and forth between the two women, wincing further when Millicent gave him a threatening growl. "_MY _daughter is a possible match too, Edmund. Quite frankly, it isn't fair that you base your opinion solely on looks alone." Millicent hissed, much to her husband's exasperation.

"Millie, don't do that—" Goyle stopped when Draco, Blaise and Theodore all burst out into sniggers. Ignoring Daphne and Millicent's glares at them, the three former Slytherins chose to avoid their eyes; turning their attention back to their children and watching them run around the playpen.

Luckily enough for Draco, Gabriel chose that exact moment to look up around the room to search for him in panic – much like Garrett did awhile ago. At the sight of his father's familiar face and smile, Gabriel instantly relaxed and giggled happily, waving before he went back to playing with Chessie and another brown-haired little toddler that Draco didn't quite recognize.

Frowning to himself, he raised an eyebrow and nudged Blaise beside him. "…Who's that brown-haired little kid playing with my son?" Blaise set down his glass of champagne and turned around at Draco's question, following his best friend's gaze to the little boy sitting beside Gabriel.

After staring at the toddlers for a couple of minutes in thought, Blaise finally chuckled and answered in a lazy drawl. "I believe that's Longbottom's kid…What was his name…? Daniel?" When Draco made a face at this and scowled irritably, Blaise laughed again and shook his head at him.

"You're still such an arrogant snob, Draco. Gabriel's just a toddler; I doubt he has _ANY _idea who he interacts with. He doesn't care about stuff like that like _YOU _do." Blaise pointed out but Draco's scowl just deepened and he shook his head fiercely.

"That's just where it all starts, Blaise! It starts with the type of children your kids hang out with until eventually, they ends up being best friends with them and being influenced by the way _THEY _were raised. I do _NOT _want my son influenced by _ANY_ Longbottom! He might end up becoming all goody-goody, nice and _Gryffindorky. _Ugh!" He shuddered for effect, causing Blaise to chuckle again.

"Aren't you being a bit melodramatic, Draco?"

Draco snapped his eyes up at him and answered him with a firm glare. "I am _NOT!_ I swear it's the truth! I learned it from one of those 'how-to' parenting books I read—" He stopped abruptly in the middle of his sentence and flushed in embarrassment when he realized what he was about to say.

Looking up with a sheepish cringe, he forced a laugh as he was met with the bewildered, disbelieving faces of not only Blaise and the other males but also Pansy, Daphne and Millicent. All three women had their eyebrows raised and looked as though they were trying not to laugh out loud.

It was Millicent who spoke up first and she rewarded Draco with a teasing, knowing smirk. "Uhm...You read _Parenting Books, _Draco?" Draco flushed darker and scowled when he heard Oswald and Crabbe hastily try to cover up their snorts of laughter behind their hand with a fake cough.

Daphne added even _more _injury to this by grinning widely at Draco and giving him a saucy wink. "Oh Draco… You should know…Pansy and I were thinking of attending a mother's counseling session next week…Would you like to come and join us too?" She asked sweetly, causing more snorts of stifled laughter to erupt from the rest of the pureblooded men gathered around them.

Draco sneered warningly at them, his eyes narrowing into angry slits. "_ALRIGHT_! So I'm a concerned father! It's nothing to be ashamed of! I happen to be _VERY_ proud of my sons! They're _PERFECT._ Which is more than what I can say for most of you and _YOUR _stupid children!" He scoffed arrogantly, causing Blaise to roll his eyes and the other males to glare at him in mild insult.

Pansy giggled at this and smiled flirtatiously at him again, gesturing to where Garrett and Baxter were now playing together with some building blocks.

"Well I think that's really _sweet _and _cute _how you care so much about your sons, Drakie-poo—" Oswald and Theodore sniggered to themselves again at the words 'sweet' and 'cute' while Draco grimaced and silenced them with a dark glare. Pansy went on anyway, oblivious to their reactions.

"—I'm curious though, Draco…How can you tell your sons apart? They're really cute but they look so much alike! I have trouble keeping track of them both." She cooed, unwittingly causing her husband to stiffen in annoyance again and Blaise to roll his eyes to himself as he answered.

"They look so much alike because they're _IDENTICAL TWINS, _Pansy. _DUH_." He ignored Pansy's miffed glare at him and shook his head, inciting more sniggers from the small group around them.

Draco smirked as well and was just about to answer Pansy's question when all of his friends suddenly looked up, their attention drawn to something over his shoulder. "Well look what the cat dragged in…" Theodore Nott suddenly mused, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What—?" Curious, he turned around and followed Theodore's gaze to the man who had just walked in through the entrance of the Zabini ballroom. When he recognized just _who _exactly his friends were so busy smirking at, Draco felt a sneer of dislike forming on his own lips.

_Maximillian Thornton._

* * *

"—and it was all so _WICKED_, Harry! There were these floating ghosts everywhere! And the Great Hall was so huge and the Gryffindor Common Room was so beautiful! And there was _QUIDDITCH_ and oh _TRANSFIGURATION _was so _WICKED! _Professor McGonagall was all like—"

"Whoa…Slow down there, Keira! Talk more slowly for me, I can't keep up!" Harry laughed in amusement, watching 11-year-old Keira Vallehan Black's eyes light up in absolute excitement as she continued to rant on about her first year experience at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry.

The adorable little girl Harry had first met years ago during her Hogwarts debut was now a beautiful young redhead who was already a younger version of her mother Regina. Her eyes were twinkling with mirth and she was practically bouncing up and down as she talked, earning more laughs from Harry as she listened to her rushed sentences and exclamations.

"—a—and Isabella and I almost got lost in the Forbidden Forest but it was alright because we had a Hippogriff with us and we just flew him right back to Hogwarts castle! We got detention though, Professor Snape is _SUCH _an annoying slimy haired git! Daddy told me that you once rode a Hippogriff to rescue him in your third year, Harry! Is that true?! That's so _WICKED!_" She burst out again, causing Harry to wince at her fast-paced rambling and step back to rub her sore ears.

"Yes it's true, Keira…But how on earth did you and Isabella manage to trap yourselves in the Forbidden Forest in the first place? First years aren't allowed in there right? That's—" Harry stopped when Keira interrupted her again, bouncing up and grabbing the Malfoy Mistress by her hands.

"O—oh and Isabella tells me that she's going to try out for the Slytherin Quidditch team next year just like her brother Blaise! I want to try out for the Quidditch team too – do you think I should Harry?! I want to be Captain and Seeker just like you! You're my role model! Did you know that they have your badge and Quidditch stuff and trophies in the Gryffindor trophy room?" Keira said this all in a single breath, looking up to see Harry staring incredulously at her with wide, confused eyes.

"Er…I'm sorry…I didn't catch all that yet, Keira—"

"I told Mommy and Daddy awhile ago that I can't wait for little James to grow up and go to Hogwarts as well! I'm going to teach him the ropes! And we're both going to become the best Quidditch seekers of Gryffindor, you'll see! I want my trophies right next to yours, Harry! You know that the Gryffindors still talk about you every now and then?! And I'm all like – _YEAH! _I know, Harry Potter! She's like an older sibling to me! Hah! So there!" Keira paused again to take in a breath of air.

Harry had pretty much given up trying to keep up with Keira at this point and just laughed again, nodding helplessly for her to continue. "Uhm…Okay…Go on—"

"Did you know that Slytherin boys are _JERKS?!_ I mean Isabella's a Slytherin but even _SHE _tells me that her housemates are _JERKS! _There's this _ONE _boy…A lot of my girl friends say he's really hot and good looking and all that but I _HATE _him! He and his friends are always picking on me and—"

Harry began to laugh harder, her shoulders shaking with hilarity. "Hahaha! My sides—"

"It's _NOT _funny, Harry! I'm serious! He's such a _PRICK _and – _OH! ISABELLA'S HERE!_ I have to go, Harry! That stupid Slytherin prick is actually _HERE _with his parents and Isabella and I are going to think of ways to get back at him for all the mean stuff he called us in school! I'll see you later!" Before Harry could answer her, Keira gave her a quick hug and ran off towards Isabella Zabini across the ballroom – leaving Harry gaping after her with another incredulous look on her face.

As soon as the young redhead had disappeared into the crowd of guests, Harry shook her head and shrugged, reaching for a glass of champagne from a passing house-elf. _That girl is just brimming with energy! Hard to believe she's already in Hogwarts. Time sure does go by…_She realized in amazement, sighing as she began to make her way to the far corner of the room.

After walking a couple of steps, it wasn't long before she felt someone tapping insistently on her shoulder from behind. Whirling around; she was instantly rewarded with her godfather's sheepish laughter followed by him grinning warmly and pulling her into a tight, fatherly hug. Laughing, Harry returned his hug briefly before she pulled away and offered him a bright smile.

"Sirius! When did you get here? Keira just told me that you wouldn't get home from France for about another hour or so." She exclaimed, rolling her eyes when all Sirius did to answer her was to offer her a conspiratorial wink, pushing back strands of sleek black hair out of his eyes.

"Well I left early…I couldn't help it. Business conferences are a complete waste of my time! Besides…I didn't want to miss the chance of giving my little Prongslet a..._LOOK OUT! HERE IT COMES!_" He grinned widely, linked his arm around her neck and ducked her head down to give her a playful noogie, causing Harry to growl and struggle wildly against him in exasperated irritation.

"_SIRIUS! ARGH! LET GO!"_

Still laughing to himself, he allowed her to push him away after several minutes, watching as the younger Gryffindor attempted to fix her now thoroughly disheveled black hair with a scowl on her face. As she did this and grumbled repeatedly under her breath about 'annoying godfathers', Sirius chuckled and spoke up again, gesturing to Keira and Isabella across the ballroom.

"I saw you talking to Keira awhile ago…She's quite a handful, huh? She's been doing nothing but rant about Hogwarts these days. Kind of makes me wish I was a kid again and back at school." He let out a wistful sigh as he said this but Harry just rolled her eyes at him and gave him a teasing grin.

"We're not _THAT _old yet, Paddy!I mean…Look at _me. _I'm married and I have _TWO _kids and I don't feel _ANY _older at all. I still act like a kid most of the time." She kidded, flicking her eyes across the room to see Garrett and Gabriel giggling loudly and playing building blocks with Baxter Cunningham and Daniel Longbottom in the middle of the children's playpen.

Sirius followed her gaze and stared at the twins in thoughtful silence. After several seconds, he finally sighed and turned back to her with a grim expression on his face.

"Actually, Harry…That's…_kind of_ the reason I left the conference early." He began, wincing slightly when he sensed Harry's shoulders tensing and the way her eyes had narrowed at his words. She remained silent and waited for him to speak first before she dared to speak up.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably and sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Hermione talked to me a couple of days ago. She asked me to talk to you about something she was concerned about…Frankly, I think she may have a point, Prongslet." He paused and looked up to gauge her reaction, frowning when Harry just rolled her eyes in growing irritation.

She turned her head away from him and downed the glass of champagne she had in her hand in a single gulp, setting it down noisily on the table in front of them. "Ugh…Here it comes." She grumbled and sure enough, the first words out of Sirius' mouth confirmed her initial suspicions.

"Ron and Hermione tell me that you're becoming a bit of a workaholic, Harry—"

Harry broke him off with an exasperated sigh, shaking her head and reaching a hand up to massage her temples in frustration. "Oh for the love of Merlin…Not you too, Sirius!" She muttered, reaching for another glass of liquor before she looked up and met Sirius' admonishing glare.

"Hear me out for a minute here. Your friends are just a little worried about you—"

Harry let out a sound that sounded like a desperate, frustrated growl, snapping her eyes up to glare angrily at her godfather. Inspecting her weary features, Sirius noted the dark circles under her eyes and the way her cheeks seemed to be flushed with enormous amounts of stress and exhaustion.

"Sirius…_PLEASE _lay off. Okay? I don't need this right now." She took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued, clenching her hands tightly into fists. "I just need a _couple more months_ until I earn my promotion. After that, everything will be back to normal and I'll be able to balance my time properly again…Okay? _PLEASE_ don't make this any worse for me."

The helplessness of her voice caused Sirius' eyes to soften as he stepped toward her and placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder. "Harry, you just really need to get some rest. Just…Lie low for awhile. Spend some time with your family. Spend some time with your kids. I reckon you've missed a lot of important milestones in your sons' infancy because you're so busy all the time—"

He stopped when Harry snapped her head back up and silenced him with a single glare. "You think I don't _KNOW _that, Sirius?! You think I don't _THINK _about that all the time whenever I see them?! Look, it's not like I _ENJOY _not being able to spend time with my family! I'm only _ONE _person! Things have just been so hard and stressful for me lately that I—"

Sirius shook his head and gave her a pointed look. "Then _TAKE A BREAK, _Harry! It's not like it's going to kill you to be a wife and a mother once in awhile. There comes a point when a job just asks too much of you that you have to think about the things that really matter." He told her but he sighed when his goddaughter's eyes just flashed again in stubborn indignation.

"I _KNOW _that, Sirius! And I am trying my goddamn _BEST! _I am practically _KILLING _myself just so I can be every _SINGLE _person that people expect me to be." Sirius looked as though he was going to say something else but Harry went on anyway, her eyes narrowing slowly into angry slits.

"I am trying to be _FOUR _different people all at once! _MISTRESS MALFOY _to society, a _MOTHER _to my sons, a _WIFE _to Draco and still bloody _HARRY POTTER _to everyone else! Do you have _ANY IDEA _how much I want to _EXPLODE _right now from all that pressure?! I am trying my _BEST!_" She hissed out through clenched teeth, her words finally causing Sirius to sigh and nod slowly in understanding.

"I understand it's difficult, Harry—"

The younger Gryffindor scoffed in derision, reaching for another glass of champagne from a nearby table and downing it in one angry gulp. When she slammed the glass back down, she looked up and silenced the rest of Sirius' protests with a single angry sneer of contempt.

"In case you didn't realize, I am just _ONE PERSON!_ I can't be in two places at once! This job is the _ONE THING…_the _ONLY _thing I am doing for _MYSELF_. It's only for a few more months, Sirius…Things are already so difficult for me – not being able to see my kids and all but—"

Sirius chose that moment to cut her off again, directing her attention to his exasperated glare. "That's exactlythe problem, Harry! You don't seem to realize that you're not the only one having a difficult time in all this—_" _He tried to explain himself more but Harry was obviously not listening anymore and was already beginning to turn away from him towards the other direction.

"Leave it alone, Sirius. I can take care of myself."

She didn't give her godfather a chance to answer as she stalked off, ignoring his loud protests and pushing her way through the crowd of people towards the opposite end of the ballroom.

* * *

"So glad you could join us here today, Thornton…How's the family doing? Still with magic?" The mocking words had slipped out of Draco's mouth even before he could stop himself and he sneered, stopping just right behind the other man and causing him to start at the sound of his voice.

Oswald, Theodore and Goyle followed his lead and gathered around Max in a small circle, forcing the other man to stiffen and look up at Draco's smirking face. He looked like he wanted to say something scathing back in response but instead; he forced a smile and nodded in acknowledgment

"A pleasant evening to you gentlemen. Malfoy…Cunningham…Nott…Goyle…" He nodded respectively to all the other purebloods around him before turning back to meet Draco's cold gray eyes. "Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked them politely, causing Draco to arch a single eyebrow at him in exaggerated boredom and give him another haughty sneer.

"I believe the question is better phrased at… 'What _CAN _you do at all, Thornton?' You're a squib, remember? I doubt you could do _anything _for us." He drawled back, causing Max to stiffen with anger again and Oswald, Theodore and Goyle to erupt into gales of amused guffaws and laughter.

Highly encouraged by his friends' reactions, Draco smirked wider and spoke up again in a deceptively innocent tone of voice. "Speaking of which…Have you heard of the magical plague that's been going around Europe lately? They say purebloods are the most highly susceptible to catch it." He pointed out casually, hiding a smirk.

Max seemed to give him a wary look as he answered. "Yeah, of course I have…It's all over the news these days. What about it?" He asked grudgingly, taking another step away from them.

Draco would have answered him but Oswald spoke up instead, slinging an arm over Max's shoulder from behind. "Have you taken the necessary health precautions, mate? We fellow _'purebloods' _should watch out for each other right? Oh wait—" He paused and pretended to blink in realization, turning his head back to stare in exaggerated confusion at Max's irritated face.

The other men stifled another laugh again as Oswald turned to wink at them briefly before snapping his attention back to Max and offering him a speculative smile. "—I just realized…You're _lucky!_ I doubt the magical plague would do anything drastic to _you _anymore, right? I mean…Given the state of things." He smirked wider when Max growled and shoved his arm away.

"What are you talking about, Cunningham—"

"Come now, Thornton. Cunningham is just being a good friend by trying to warn you to be careful…" Draco pointed out, pretending to look offended with the other man's reaction. Max glared at him, his eyes narrowing carefully into angry slits. He looked as though he was going to snap something back when Theodore suddenly turned to Draco and let out a derisive scoff.

"It's not like the idiot has anything to lose…right? I doubt the stupid disease would accomplish _ANYTHING_ with him anyway. There isn't any magic to drain out of him in the first place!" He blurted out loudly, causing Draco and the other men to erupt into another fresh round of laughter.

Max looked thoroughly furious and humiliated at this point. He clenched his jaw and was just about to walk away from their group when Draco's eyes suddenly narrowed in anticipation. The Malfoy Head shot a hand out and clasped Max tightly by the shoulder to stop him, keeping him firmly in place.

"Whoa, whoa…Hold on a minute there, Max. Don't be rude. We're not done talking to you yet. We still have so much to catch up on." Draco said sarcastically, his eyes gleaming with malice as he callously shoved Max away. Goyle grinned and caught him by his arms, keeping him from struggling.

Oswald and Theodore both sniggered, stepping closer around them so that they shielded Max from the other guests around the ballroom. Still struggling, Max turned his hateful glare to Draco and snarled, the look in his eyes completely murderous as they rested on the Malfoy Head's face.

"Malfoy! You sadistic bastard! You haven't changed at all!" He hissed angrily, struggling harder against Goyle in growing agitation. "Let me go! Get your filthy hands off me, Goyle! I'm warning you!" His struggles became violent, attracting the attention of many of the other nearby guests.

Draco ignored this and reached into the pocket of his robes, pulling out his wand with deliberate slowness and pointing it warningly at Max' thrashing form. This ceased the other man's movements immediately, causing the other men around them to snigger amongst themselves again.

His eyes gleaming in sadistic amusement, Draco raised his wand higher and pointed it at Max's growling face. "You know…I've never really liked you, Thornton. But then again, you probably already knew that." He drawled carefully, smirking as he watched the other man's reaction.

Max chose to remain silent, the expression on his face completely unreadable as he looked up at Draco's taunting silver eyes. Oswald, Theodore and Goyle were watching the scene unfold in mild interest and just as it looked as though Draco was going to say something else again, they were all distracted by a voice suddenly calling their attention from behind.

"Draco! _STOP! _What the _HELL _are you all doing?!"

Whirling around, the hand Draco used to hold up his wand lowered inadvertently as he found himself staring at his wife's furious face. Harry's eyes were flashing and she looked disgusted as she sauntered over to him, snatching his wand out of his hand and pulling him away from Max.

Oswald and Theodore suddenly looked uncomfortable at her arrival, watching silently as Harry shoved Goyle away from Max and helped the other man steady himself back up. Draco clenched his hands into fists and glared at her from behind, his eyes darkening into a stormy near-black shade.

"Harry…This does _NOT_ concern you. The guys and I were just fooling around a bit, everything's fine. In fact, we were just in the middle of an important conversation. Stay out of this." He warned her in a low voice but Harry purposely ignored him, turning her attention to Max instead.

"Mr. Thornton…If you're not too busy with whatever it is my husband and his _idiotic _pack of followers are talking about with you…Perhaps you wouldn't mind allowing me _one _dance?" She asked him with a polite smile, giving him a pointed look that indicated her intention of helping him get away.

Draco's eyes hardened instantly at her words. "Harry, did you not hear what I said?! I said _STAY_ _AWAY _from that filthy squib—"

Max cut him off sharply and gave Harry a friendly, grateful smile.

"It would be an honor to dance with you, Mistress Jaimee. If you'll excuse me…_Malfoy_…_" _He spat the last word of his sentence in an angry hiss. "Manners come first, after all. Good evening, gentlemen." He didn't bother waiting for the other men's responses as he took the hand Jaimee offered him and quickly led her to the middle of the ballroom – all the while ignoring the angry, murderous death glare he knew Draco was sending the back of his head as he walked away.

Once they had reached the throng of other dancing couples and Max began to lead Jaimee into an easy waltz – his hand resting on the curve of her waist – the anger in Draco's eyes flared up again and he saw absolute _RED,_ the familiar feelings of raging jealousy suddenly rising up in his throat. He began to bare his teeth, a low, vicious growl already escaping him as his hands began to close themselves very slowly into tight, angry fists.

If there was anything that Draco hated above having other men _STARING _at his beautiful Harry… It was having other men _LAYING_ their _filthy_…_disgusting_…_insignificant_…_PAWS_ on _HIS _wife.

That blasted squib was going to pay with his limbs.

* * *

As soon as they were in the middle of the dance floor, Harry sighed and looked up to give Max an apologetic grimace. "Allow me to apologize on behalf of my husband and his friends, Mr. Thornton. I realize he's a man that most people may often describe as 'insufferable'." She said with a sheepish smile, earning an easy laugh from Max as he began to lead her into a slow waltz.

He spun her around once before answering her apology with a wry grin. "Once again…Call me _Max_, Harry…And don't worry about it. I've known Draco Malfoy since we were _five. _He was always an arrogant bastard...If you'll excuse my term." He added hastily, gauging her reaction to his words.

To his surprise, Harry just laughed and shook her head in fond amusement. "Yes, he is…But he's actually _very _lovable once you get to know him well enough. Otherwise, I would never have married the silly git." She quipped and hearing her words, Max raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I highly doubt that 'lovable' is a term I will _ever _use to describe your husband, Mistress Malfoy but I'll take your word for it." He kidded with a grin, causing Jaimee to laugh again at the incredulous tone of his voice. They waltzed their way around several of the other dancing couples before he spoke again, flicking his eyes up and giving her another friendly grin.

"Actually…If I may be allowed to say so… I find it very surprising how you two ended up together. From what I know of you so far, you two seem to be _completely _opposite in personalities." He mused out loud and at this, Harry rolled her eyes and scoffed, answering him with a small smirk.

"Don't I know it…?" She kidded, flicking her eyes back across the room to where Draco was still standing with his friends. As she expected, her husband looked absolutely _furious _with her – his face twisted into an angry growl as his eyes blazing with jealousy as they lingered intently on her form.

"We weren't exactly the best of friends back in school either but these things…Well they don't always happen the way you expect." She stopped talking after she had said this and sighed in exasperation, tearing her eyes away from her husband and offering Max another forced smile.

"So…Anyway…How do you like your job at the Ministry of Magic office in London so far, Max? Is it any different from your old job in France?" She asked nonchalantly, making sure to keep herself a good distance away from Max's body to placate Draco's glinting, watching eyes across the room.

Max quirked the corner of his lips into a small smile and shrugged, spinning her around carefully before he spoke. "Not by much…I _do _like working with Hermione at the department though. I think she's one of the brightest women I've met." He told her, causing Harry to smile in agreement.

"Yeah…That's Hermione alright. At certain times, she _can _get carried away and load you with too much information in the span of a single conversation though. Has that ever happened to you yet?" She asked him curiously, smirking when all Max did to answer her was to make a cringing face.

"…And I thought that was just me."

Harry laughed again at the deadpan tone of his voice and this time, Max joined her, pausing just as the waltz music playing around them ended and the other dancers began to get ready for the next dance. Once they had repositioned themselves and began to dance to the soft music again, she bit her lip and gave Max another genuinely apologetic smile.

"I really _would _like to apologize for what happened though, Max. Draco tends to get carried away. If I overstepped my boundaries and insulted your pride or anything, feel free to tell me. I understand exactly how a male may respond to being helped out of that kind of situation by a woman and I—" She stopped when Max shook his head firmly and silenced her by holding up his hand.

"It's really fine, Harry…Don't worry about it. I really appreciate your help. I reckon things would have probably taken a turn for the worst if you hadn't arrived so…Thank you." He told her, smiling when Harry's tense shoulders seemed to relax and she let out a relieved laugh in response.

Max chuckled at her reaction and shrugged, ducking his head behind his hand and offering her an embarrassed smile. "By the way…I've been meaning to ask you…I saw your robes awhile ago in the Ministry…Are you an _Unspeakable?_" He asked, his eyes widening when Harry nodded in response.

He grinned widely at her, his eyes lighting up in boyish excitement. "I _thought _so! That is so wicked! I've never actually met a real Unspeakable Agent before! What do you guys do up there? I've always wanted to know." This time, Harry answered by smiling sheepishly and shaking her head.

"I can't really say, Max…I'm sworn to secrecy by Ministry Decree—"

The rest of Harry's sentence was abruptly cut short by a shrill wail that suddenly erupted from the end of the Zabini ballroom, causing Harry, Max and the rest of the adults to stiffen in alarm. They whirled around to search for the source of the noise, their attention immediately drawn to the children's playpen in anxious concern. Once she saw where the noise was coming from, however, Harry cringed to herself and buried her face into her hands in utter embarrassment.

There, right in the middle of the children's playpen, sat Baxter Cunningham and Daniel Longbottom – both of which had burst into tears and were now crying loudly for their mothers while pointing every now and then to one happily giggling Garrett Potter Malfoy. The silver-blonde two-year-old was smiling smugly while holding in his two hands what looked like Baxter and Daniel's toy rattles, both of which Garrett had obviously stolen from them and was keeping for himself.

Gabriel sat just several steps away from his brother and was beginning to cry as well, his big green eyes flicking back and forth between Garrett and the other two toddlers in what almost appeared to be guilt and uncertainty. Scowling, Garrett held up Daniel's rattle in his hand and promptly hit his brother on the head with it, finally causing Gabriel to whimper and burst out into tears.

Once Gabriel's loud, shrill wails had joined Baxter's and Daniel's, the rest of the babies in the playpen seemed to stop what they were doing immediately and began to cry for their mothers as well. The sudden chorus of baby screams caused every single adult in the ballroom to cringe and cover their ears in a mixture of exasperation and irritation.

_Oh for Merlin's sake, Garrett! _Harry thought to herself with a groan, slapping her face with her hand. She looked up and watched as Garrett simply giggled and gurgled happily to himself amidst all the crying children around him, raising Baxter's rattle to his mouth and nibbling on the handle.

Harry looked up and met the angry glares she was receiving from most of the women – including Hermione and Luna – around her with a sheepish smile. She watched in amazement as practically every mother in the room rushed forward towards the children's playpen; gathering their son or daughter up into their arms in a gesture of comfort and reassurance.

For a minute, Harry observed this scene in awkward uncertainty – watching as Hermione, Luna, Lorraine, Regina, and even _Pansy _rushed over to their respective children and scooped them up from the floor, hugging and cradling their child to their chest in an effort to get them to stop crying.

Once safe in their mothers' arms, most of the children began to calm down right away.

Elliot was sniffing and had buried his face against Hermione's shoulder while she gently caressed the dark strands of hair on his head. Lorraine was repeatedly dropping a kiss onto the top of Chessie's hair, pulling her daughter to her in a tight, warm hug. Luna had Daniel in her arms and was swaying him gently from side to side, her son's arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

Harry shook her head to clear her thoughts and hastily rushed forward towards her own crying son, muttering a quick apology to Max over her shoulder as she walked away. Taking a hint from the other women, she bent down to scoop Gabriel up into her arms, flinching in shock a second later when Gabriel responded by crying even louder and scooting away from her in unfamiliarity.

Harry paled at this, completely taken back by her son's reaction.

"Gabriel…What are you doing—Come here, let me see that bruise…" She tried to ignore the painful pang in her chest and bent down towards Gabriel again, gathering the crying toddler up into her arms and attempting to pick him up from the floor.

The minute she had touched him, however, Gabriel seemed to erupt into even louder screams and began to whine even more – kicking and trashing violently against her in angry protest. "_NO! NO! DOWANNA! DOWANT YOU!_" He shoved his mother's hands away, causing Harry to step back in shock.

"Gabriel! What—"

Gabriel kicked at her and pushed her hands away again, tears streaming down his face as he scrambled back up onto his feet. "_I WANT DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" _He whimpered loudly, sobbing as he turned around and tore himself away from his mother, running as fast as his little legs could carry him to where his father was watching the scene from across the room.

As soon as he reached Draco, Gabriel whimpered again and buried his tear-streaked face into his father's left leg, crying softly and wrapping his tiny arms around his father's ankle. Refusing to say anything, Draco bent down slowly and gathered Gabriel up into his arms, raising a hand and gently inspecting the forming bruise on his son's forehead. The two-year-old sobbed again and pressed his face into his father's robes, his tiny arms going up to wrap around Draco's neck.

Harry stared blankly at this entire scene unfold from the opposite end of the ballroom – her green eyes wide and her entire form frozen in place. She remained completely oblivious to the silent stares she was receiving from all the other mothers around her and looked up into Draco's gray eyes, noting the silent accusatory anger and disappointment seen clearly in those silver depths.

She felt…_stung._

In that moment, nothing seemed to register in her mind except for the repeated memory of Gabriel kicking and shoving her away from him over and over and over again. He had looked fearfully at her as though she was a complete stranger to him and she couldn't seem to think of anything else except for the expression on his face as he had turned away from her and screamed for his father.

She felt a harsh stinging in her chest but she refused to let her emotions show on her face, turning sharply away from the angry, pointed look Draco was giving her over Gabriel's shoulder. She ignored the heavy silence around her – which she knew was brought about by the fact that everyone was still staring at her – and began to walk over to where Garrett was kneeling on the floor.

Her older son was the only remaining baby in the playpen at this point and was happily gathering all of the other babies' toys to himself, pausing every now and then to giggle and clap his hands to himself in gleeful excitement. Harry bent down on one knee beside him and forced herself to speak – directing Garrett's attention to her stern expression.

"Garrett…You know these toys aren't yours. We're going to return them all to everyone and apologize, okay?" She reached forward and made to take one of the toys from his pile but Garrett scowled and shoved her hand away, shaking his head furiously and making a face at her.

"_NO! DOWANNA! MINE! MY TOYS! MINE! ALL MINE!" _He screamed at her, grabbing one of the toy rattles and using it to hit his mother's hand. Harry's jaw tightened impatiently as she caught the rattle in her hand, yanking it out of Garrett's grasp and putting it back down onto the floor.

Across the room, Draco sighed and began to make his way towards them with Gabriel still in his arms. Harry didn't see him and bent down close to Garrett once more, trying to take the stolen toys from the pile he had stacked up in front of him. "Garrett…I mean it! These toys are _NOT _yours and you will apologize to the other children for making them cry like that—"

"_NO! NO! NO! NO!" _Garrett stomped his foot repeatedly on the ground and grabbed one of the larger toys in the pile – in this case, Elliot's magical quaffle. "_DOWANNA! TOYS MINE! MINE! MINE! GOWAY!" _Before Harry could say anything else, Garrett screamed and hurled the ball angrily at her, causing his mother to pull back in alarm and duck, the ball missing her face by a couple of inches.

Bolting back up to her feet, Harry finally lost control of her patience and snatched Garrett up by his wrist, her green eyes flashing dangerously as she glared down at her two-year-old son.

_"Garrett…_You will apologize to me right now! I am your _MOTHER!" _

Garrett stomped his foot on the ground again and scrunched up his face, glaring stubbornly back up at his mother in childish anger. "_NO! DOWANNA! DOWANNA! NO!" _

"Why you—" Before she could stop herself, Harry finally exploded with anger – her voice suddenly coming out in a loud, furious shout. "_GARRETT! I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOUR SPOILED, BRATTY ATTITUDE! I SAID STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" _She screamed back angrily, immediately regretting her actions a second later when Garrett finally stopped and flinched at her angry, screaming voice, looking up at her in sudden fear and shock.

His wide green eyes slowly began to fill with tears as he stared up at his mother's furious face, his bottom lip trembling and the toys he was holding slipping from his arms and scattering to the floor. A timid half-sob, half-whimper escaped Garrett's lips as he slowly began to back away from her, tears beginning to pour down his face and his childlike features crumpling into a terrified grimace.

_Shit…_ Harry immediately felt a pang of guilt as she stared right back at him, noting the genuine fear gathering in her son's eyes and the way he was now looking at her as though she was the scariest thing he had ever beheld in his life. _I shouldn't have shouted at him…Shit…I'm such a screw-up at this! _She sighed and bent down towards him again, trying to pull him back into her arms.

"Garrett… I'm so sorry…Mommy's sorry for shouting, sweetheart…I'm not mad at _you, _I—"

Garrett continued to stumble backwards away from her and raised his tiny, fisted hands to his eyes, rubbing the tears that were beginning to fall. "_D—D—DADDY…D—DADDY..." _His began to cry softly, his sniffles beginning to grow louder. Eventually, he tripped backwards onto the carpeted floor and began to sob, his watery eyes searching around the room for his father.

Harry tried to pick him up and help him off the floor but Garrett only whimpered louder and crawled backwards away from her again . _"NO! NO! DADDY! DADDY!" _He screamed desperately, crying even louder as his tiny frame began to tremble with sobs and hiccups.

Ignoring the stares she was receiving from all the other occupants of the ballroom, Harry finally sighed in defeat and buried her face into her hands – desperately trying to prevent her own tears of guilt and helplessness from flooding her eyes. She felt a sharp movement beside her and looked up, her eyes coming to rest wearily on Hermione's reproachful expression.

The Zabini Mistress had Elliot cradled to her chest as she stared at her, shaking her head at the overwhelmed look written all over Harry's face. "Harry…" She began uncertainly, adjusting Elliot in her arms before turning her attention to where Garrett was still sobbing into his hands on the floor.

"Harry, you're _NOT _supposed to shout at your son at his age…Actually, you're not supposed to shout at your children like that _AT ALL…_You should have known better than that. Garrett's only _TWO_ years old." She whispered softly under her breath so that no one else could hear them.

At her words, Harry's eyes suddenly hardened and she answered Hermione with a derisive sneer of contempt and self-disgust.

"Yeah…Well forgive me if that piece of information didn't exactly come naturally to me, Hermione…" She spat out sarcastically, swallowing the painful lump in her throat as she looked back down and watched as Garrett whimpered again and reached out towards Draco across the room.

The Malfoy Head had stopped in the middle of his stride and was now standing frozen several feet away, glaring disbelievingly at them with dangerously narrowed eyes. His handsome face was twisted into a furious sneer as he met his wife's broken expression and even from where she was standing, Harry could see the way Draco's jaw was clenched tightly in unkempt anger.

He ignored Gabriel whimpering in his arms and stalked towards them, stopping a couple of feet away from Harry and meeting her guilty expression with an infuriated, accusing glare. "_POTTER_…" He hissed, causing Harry to flinch again at the harsh sound of his voice. Garrett jumped up onto his feet and ran to hide behind his father, muffling his whimpers against Draco's left leg.

Draco continued anyway, completely ignoring the fact that everyone in the ballroom was watching the private scene in shock and mild interest. "If you _EVER _shout at my sons like that again….So help me, Potter…I don't care if you _ARE _my wife, I will make you _REGRET _it—"

Harry felt her guilt immediately replaced by a sudden surge of anger. She glared right back at him, her green eyes hardening with stubborn indignation. "Oh is _THAT _so?! In case you haven't noticed, _MALFOY…_It's _YOUR _fault that our sons are so bloody _SPOILED _in the first place!" She raged right back, scowling further when Draco's jaw dropped and his eyes flashed in angry indignation.

"_MY FAULT_?! You think this is _MY _fault?!" Draco laughed harshly, his eyes glinting with contempt as he met her eyes. "You have _SOME _nerve, Harry! For the past _TWO YEARS_, I have been _TRYING _to raise our sons _ALONE! _What have _YOU _done?! Maybe I wouldn't have to do the parenting _ALONE _if you were _AROUND!_" His last sentence ended up louder than he would have liked and both Gabriel and Garrett flinched again, their eyes filling up with more tears.

Harry fell silent at this, staring back at Draco's angry features with a completely blank and speechless expression on her face. She watched as he bent down and picked Garrett's sobbing form up with his free arm until eventually, both two-year-olds were crying against their father's shoulder.

For the first time since their argument had started, Harry's eyes flicked upwards and she finally became aware of the pairs of eyes that were watching them from all around the ballroom.

She flushed in humiliation as she was met with her friends' reproachful stares. Byron and Sirius were standing several feet behind Draco and were biting their lip in uncertainty while just behind them; Ron, Anton and Ginny were awkwardly trying to avert their eyes away from her. The rest of the Malfoy family stood behind them and were giving both her _and _Draco a disapproving glare – no doubt displeased with their display of such open dispute in view of the public.

Max Thornton was standing right behind them with another unreadable expression in his eyes but Harry didn't linger too much on him, her eyes slowly moving back to rest on her husband's weary features. Draco was staring at her with a hint of sadness and angry disappointment in his silver eyes. Just as he shook his head and was about to turn around to walk away, a sharp scream suddenly erupted out of nowhere – bringing everyone's immediate attention to the very front of the ballroom.

"_NO! OH MERLIN, PLEASE NO! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! PLEASE!" _

Her argument with Draco momentarily forgotten, Harry was on her guard immediately and tore through the crowd towards the direction of the scream, ignoring everyone's panicked whispers as she pushed her way to the front of the ballroom and hurriedly yanked her wand out of her robes.

_"OH GOOD GOD! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP HIM! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING! PLEASE!" _

Harry stopped at the circular clearing that had formed within the crowd of guests near the front of the ballroom and paled, a jolt of unexpected fear suddenly surging through her chest as she stared at the horrifying scene that greeted her.

Pansy was crying and kneeling on the ground with her hands covering her mouth, her eyes wide and her entire frame shaking with sobs as she stared at the convulsing form of her husband in front of her – laid out lifelessly in front of her on the cold, marble floor. Baxter was standing right behind her and was staring at his father's pale, lifeless body with wide, tearful eyes, sobs and whimpers escaping his lips as he backed away and buried his face into his mother's robes.

Oswald Cunningham, on the other hand, showed no signs of consciousness and his entire body had turned ashen. His eyes had rolled up onto the back of his head and his frame convulsed like that of a man having a seizure for several seconds before he stopped and began to cough violently, blood pooling up in his mouth and spilling onto the white tiles of the ballroom dance floor.

"Everyone please stay back! Back away! It may be contagious!" Harry shouted out loud, causing more panicked screams to break out from around the room as many pureblooded families hurriedly grabbed their children and began to run for the door. Byron tried to help usher everyone out while the rest of the Malfoys backed away, their faces pale with shock and disbelief.

Draco's eyes widened when he saw this and he backed away in fear, clutching his sons tighter against him and turning away to shield their eyes from the horrifying sight. Blaise, Max and the other pureblooded males gaped and backed away as well while the women around them began to gasp and scream loudly in growing hysteria, their shrill cries echoing around the large ballroom.

Hermione, Lorraine and the other women held their children tighter and shakily ran away from the scene while Ginny clutched Anton's hand and nervously pulled him away. Sirius was shielding Regina and Keira from the entire scene and was holding little James protectively against him while Ron and the rest of the Weasleys were simply frozen in shock, watching everything unfold in silence.

Oblivious to all this chaos around her, Harry knelt down next to a crying Pansy and Baxter and raised a hand to check for Oswald's pulse along his neck, paling even further when she was met with a _very _weak, unstable heartbeat. Looking back up, she met Byron's equally wide, suspicious eyes from across the room and gulped, nodding silently to him as though in unspoken agreement.

She knew that the fear she saw in those golden brown eyes perfectly mirrored her own.

* * *

**A/N: **Before you all start hating Harry, let me first explain something very important about Harry's reaction to Garrett in this chapter: Harry never HAD a parent figure all her life except for the Dursleys. How did they treat her? By shouting at her all the time. Her reaction to Garrett was a psychological impulse on her part because of her childhood experiences. Draco, on the other hand, was loved, pampered and absolutely _SPOILED ROTTEN_ as a kid. It's only natural he would also spoil his children_. _

Their parenting styles CLASH and strange enough as it would seem, Draco is actually the better parent at this point. Harry _WILL _get better in the end, don't worry. And yes, Harry is being a stubborn prick. She wouldn't be Harry Potter if she wasn't. :D

**Next Chapter: **More on the magical plague, More marital problems, More Byron/Vincent :D

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :D **


	13. Falling Apart

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Fast update eh? ;) Just a shameless plug-in: The next chapter of **Phoenix Tears** should be out soon so keep a lookout if you're interested in that story. To those who don't know, it's a darker DM/femHP story I'm writing on the side. :D Otherwise, enjoy the chapter! I think we're past half the story at this point. Things are about to take a drastic turn _VERY _soon. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Falling Apart**

Pacing the entire length of the bedroom balcony of their estate in Godric's Hollow, a flustered Harry held her muggle cellular phone tighter against her ear in growing agitation. A low growl escaped her lips as she listened impatiently to Vincent Ashford's rushed voice over the other line.

"What do you _MEAN_ we still have don't have a lead on this case?! Ashford! My husband and my in-laws are _PUREBLOODS_!_ YOU'RE _a pureblood! This is getting _SERIOUSLY _out of hand_!_" Harry snapped out loud in an angry shout, raising a hand to her massage her temples in frustration.

Vincent answered her with an equally frustrated growl over the phone. "Don't you think I _KNOW _that, Potter?! St. Mungo's best healers are currently working on the damn case as we speak! I rushed over there awhile ago! _TWO _more sudden cases aside from Cunningham have already been taken in tonight!" He raged, causing Harry's eyebrows to rise up further in dismay.

"What?! _TWO _more?! Who were they?!"

She heard the Head Unspeakable sighing on the other line. "Let's see…There's Philippe Winchester, if I'm not mistaken… And—" Harry paled in fearful shock when Vincent had said this. "—and just half an hour ago, Neville Longbottom. I realize he's a good friend of yours, I'm sorry—"

Harry didn't bother waiting for the rest of Vincent's sentence and cursed out loud, slamming her fist angrily against the balcony railing. "_NO! _Not _NEVILLE! _Bloody _HELL!_" She growled again and she covered her mouth with her free hand, a dreadful feeling of nausea flooding her chest.

Vincent paused on the other line and waited silently for her to recover from her shock. He had to wait for several more minutes, however, as Harry cursed out loud again and continued to pound her fist and kick against the balcony railing – her shouts echoing in the silence of the bedroom balcony.

Once she had managed to gain a semblance of control over her emotions, she took a deep breath to calm herself and massaged her temples again – the expression on her face one of complete exhaustion. Vincent remained silent on the other line, waiting patiently for her to speak up first.

She sighed and took another deep breath. "I…I'm sorry…I lost control of myself for a minute there. It's just that…Neville is a really good friend of mine and it's _frustrating _to know that we can't do anything right now because we don't know how the disease is spreading around." She paused and bit her lip, gripping the phone tighter as she flicked her eyes up to the night sky in thought.

"Do you think the disease is transmitted through the air or something? Or through physical touch? Maybe even magical interaction?" She asked wearily but all Vincent did to answer her was to give another loud, exasperated sigh. He sounded irritated as he answered her question.

"I don't know, Potter…I really don't. At this point, all we know is that only pureblood _males _seem to be susceptible to the disease. I don't understand _why _yet, exactly…But the Minister is getting rather desperate. He wants us _AND _the entire Auror department on the case 24/7 starting tomorrow morning. Will you be able to make it by 8AM? We have several investigations to conduct." He asked and at this, Harry suddenly stiffened and flicked her eyes to the date on her magical wristwatch.

"O—oh…Uhm…Ashford, it's _my _turn to watch my twin sons tomorrow…Do you mind if I stay behind the desk until around lunchtime? I really think I need to stay with them this time—"

Vincent growled impatiently and his voice rose several levels in annoyance. "Potter, this is a _SERIOUS _case! Do you _WANT _to solve this or not? When you agreed to take this promotion, I discussed to you _CLEARLY _the kind of commitment and dedication you needed to exert—"

Harry cut him off hastily and closed her eyes in defeat, raising a hand to massage her forehead in exhaustion. "A—alright…Fine…Fine! Forget about what I said. I'll…I'll think of something. Maybe I can ask my godfather or Regina to take the twins tomorrow…I'll be there tomorrow. 8 AM." She agreed reluctantly, a heavy feeling in her chest when she heard herself saying the words out loud.

Vincent paused for a split second to gather his next words before he spoke up again in an equally exhausted tone of voice. "I realize that I seem to be working you to death, Potter…I wouldn't really know since I'm still a single bachelor but…Do you still want to do this?" He asked quietly, the firmness of his voice causing Harry to stop and blink to herself in slight surprise.

"Excuse me…?"

The Head Unspeakable rephrased his question. "I asked…If you still want this promotion. This is not something I will force on you, Potter…I just need for you to tell me what you intend to do." He told her again and this time, Harry's eyes flashed and her fingers tightened around her phone.

"I have _NO _idea what you are implying Ashford but how many times do I have to tell you?! _YES_, I want this job! Alright?! Shall I bloody sing or dance it out loud?!" She growled angrily, eliciting a harsh scoff from Vincent on the other line. He chuckled for a few moments before he spoke up again.

"Very well…8AM tomorrow, Potter. Don't be late. I'll see you then."

He ended the conversation at this and hung up, leaving Harry glaring heatedly at her muggle cellphone in silence. Grumbling to herself, she rolled her eyes and shoved the phone back into the pocket of her pajama top, turning around and slowly making her way back towards the house.

When she saw that the bedroom was still empty and that her husband was nowhere in sight, she fused her eyebrows together and hesitantly trailed on further down the hallway towards his office – stopping briefly just as she passed by Garrett and Gabriel's large nursery beside their bedroom.

Peering inside for a minute to check that both her twin sons were fast asleep, Harry bit her lip to herself before she sighed and continued on towards Draco's large office near the other end of the corridor. She found her blonde husband seated stiffly behind his desk and working his way through several parchments of financial reports all at once – a whole horde of them laid out on his table.

About a dozen quills were magically scribbling away on separate parchments in front of him all at once, pausing only to wait for Draco's further instructions whenever he would stop and make several adjustments or corrections to his statements. Every so often, the former Slytherin would reach out, take a small sip from the mug of coffee beside him, wearily readjust his reading glasses before turning back to reading through the thick stacks of folders and documents in his hand.

Harry watched him silently outside the open doors of his office for several moments, fidgeting hesitantly to herself and trying to form a proper opening sentence in her head. She was just about to speak up in a soft voice when Draco finally looked up and regarded her with a cold, hard glare over his reading glasses, one of eyebrows arching and his lips forming into an unwelcoming sneer.

"If you don't have anything intelligent to say, Potter…Would you mind getting the bloody hell out of my office? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy at the moment – _scratch that last line._" The last part of his clipped sentence he had snapped to the quill to his right. He turned his head again and pointedly ignored her by raising the parchment in his hands to cover his face from her vision.

Harry flinched at his cold response and wrung her hands nervously to herself again. She swallowed the painful lump in her throat and sighed, finally taking a brave step into his large office. "Draco…Look…Let me just say this. I'm not here to argue with you. I just…I wanted to talk to you about what happened back there tonight at the party. I didn't mean—"

Draco cut her off again by noisily slamming the parchments he held onto his desk, snatching his glasses off his face with an irritated scoff. Ignoring the timid expression on Harry's face, he brought his chilling gaze up and stared intently at her – allowing her to see the steely anger in his gray eyes and the way he was obviously trying to keep himself from exploding.

"You have three minutes, Potter. _TALK._"

Again, Harry couldn't help flinching and taking a careful step backwards away from him at his harsh, mocking expression – the sight of which she never thought she would ever have to see again since their days back as bitter archenemies at Hogwarts. Draco noticed her reluctance and his sneer hardened even more, his silver eyes glinting dangerously at her from across the room.

Harry bit her lip and began to speak. "…'Co…I just…I just wanted to—"

"To what_?_ To _WHAT_, Harry? To _APOLOGIZE? _Is that what you took the time out of your incredibly _HECTIC, MULTIPLE _lives for?" Draco let out a derisive scoff and shook his head in disbelief, narrowing his eyes and turning away from her to flick his eyes back to the papers on his table.

Harry bit her lip at his response and tried again, ignoring the painful dryness of her throat as she struggled for the right words to say. "Draco, it's not like that…Okay? Look…I'm…I didn't mean to react the way I did tonight towards Garrett…I just…I don't know _anything _about being a mother and—"

Draco let out an angry sigh and slammed the parchments down again, pausing to look up and meet her eyes with an exasperated glare.

"Oh will you get over your damn masculinity issues, Harry?! It's not even about that anymore! You're a _WOMAN!_ Deal with it! It's not about _YOU _or _ME _or you not knowing how to be a good mother! It's about being a good _PARENT _and frankly, you have no idea what you're doing!" He exploded, the force of his words causing a sharp jolt of anger to erupt in her chest.

She squelched it down, however, and stared back calmly at him – watching as the fires of anger and contempt darkened Draco's eyes into a stormy gray. "I'm sorry for the way I treated our sons, Draco. I didn't mean to shout at them. Besides…It's not like you're a good parent yourself. You spoil the twins so much that they're beginning to think they _have _no limitations when it comes to interacting with other children. We're _both _trying to learn here—"

Draco shook his head at this and sneered again, bending back down and ignoring the rest of her words by going back to work. "_I'M _trying, Harry. _YOU'RE _not. Your own sons don't even know you. As far as I've seen, you're not just terrible at being a mother. You're a terrible _PARENT_ as well. I don't know what else I can possible say to you." He sounded angry and disappointed as he said this and the weary expression on his face brought a pang of guilt and bitter regret to her chest.

_Yeah well…It's not like I know how to be a parent either. _Harry thought sadly to herself, her vision blurring slightly as she called to mind the eleven years of neglected childhood she had spent living with her mother's relatives. Taking a deep breath, she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes before Draco could notice, looking back up and noting the defeated heaviness of his movements.

"Draco…I…I'm really sorry…I just…I'm trying…" She sighed heavily and made to walk toward him again, her green eyes softening in concern. Just as she reached his desk, however, he looked up at her again and shook his head firmly, his mercury orbs cold, unwelcoming and carefully guarded.

"Go to sleep, Harry. I won't be finished for another two to three hours. Don't wait up."

He ignored the crestfallen expression on her face as he turned away and went back to reading the reports in his hand. She saw the way he was trying to hide his emotions and reached out to touch his cheek anyway but the minute she had, however, Draco flinched and rudely pushed her hand away.

The next words he hissed out felt like a sharp knife being stabbed right into Harry's chest.

"Don't touch me…_Potter."_

She stood there – pale with shock and a wounded expression on her face – as Draco sneered at her one last time before he shoved her away, swiveling his chair back and picking his quill up from the table. He ignored her completely after that and shoved his glasses back on, bending back down and forcing his full attention back to his work. Harry stood behind his chair and watched him silently for a couple more seconds, her green eyes dimming with silent realization.

Then, taking a deep, shaky breath, she slowly began to walk out of his office – pausing a couple of inches away from the entrance doors and turning around to cast one last look at Draco's form across the room. The young Malfoy Head stubbornly refused to acknowledge her.

Sighing, Harry forced a weak, sad smile at him anyway. "Good night. I…I love you…Okay?"

She felt a harsh stinging in the corner of her eyes when Draco's only response was to ignore her again and to turn back to the magically writing quill to his right.

"Scratch the last line."

Harry didn't bother waiting any further for him to answer her as she turned and silently rushed out of his office, refusing to break down in front of him.

As soon as she was back out in the hallway, she redirected her shaky footsteps towards the twins' nursery beside their bedroom, wrapping her arms protectively around herself when she heard the rain beginning to pour outside. Once she reached the large, brightly decorated nursery, she slowly walked inside and stopped a couple of feet away from her sons' adjacent cribs.

Unable to prevent a small, genuine smile from breaking out onto her face, Harry took a step forward towards them and very carefully peered down into Gabriel's crib, chuckling when she was met with the sight of her son's slightly mussed up blonde hair peeking out from underneath his blankets.

Still smiling softly, she reached out and gently adjusted the blankets around Gabriel's form, tucking them properly under his chin. After she had done this, she caressed his hair and leaned down to give the sleeping toddler a kiss on the cheek, watching as he snuggled contentedly under his blankets. Once she was sure that he was comfortable, she pulled back and walked over to Garrett's nearby crib next – bending down similarly to inspect her older son in silence.

The older two-year-old was also fast asleep and was sprawled out more haphazardly along his crib than his brother was – an empty bottle of milk laid out beside his head. Harry held back another fond laugh and reached out to take the bottle from him, setting it down on the bedside table in the middle of the twins' cribs. After turning back to Garrett and tucking him properly underneath his blankets, she leaned down and planted a kiss onto his forehead as well, using the same gesture to gently stroke several tufts of silver blonde hair out of his eyes.

Garrett whimpered softly in his sleep and turned to his side. Harry watched him for a couple of minutes until he quieted back down, his breathing slowly returning to normal. Once she was sure that both her sons were comfortable once more, she stepped back again and stood right in front of their cribs where she could see them both – her eyes softening as she gazed at their sleeping faces.

_They're really so adorable…No wonder all the older Malfoys spoil them so much._ She thought to herself in mild amusement, watching as Garrett turned in his sleep again and laid his head out on his large pillow. Gabriel remained peacefully asleep, his small chest rising and falling with each breath.

Harry shook her to head in amazement when she noticed this, her attention momentarily focusing on her older son's sleeping figure. To be quite honest, she wasn't all that surprised when she realized that Garrett reminded her _so much_ of his father – perhaps seen clearly in the way he was growing up with so much more self-assurance and assertiveness than his younger brother.

At the mere age of _two_, Garrett was already showing so much of Draco's pride and arrogance that he was beginning to have a negative effect on the other children – even Gabriel at times when he would fight with his brother selfishly for something he wanted. It was manifested at its best just a couple of hours ago when he had managed to make everyone in the playpen cry – including Gabriel.

Strangely enough, however, Harry was more than surprised to realize that as much as Garrett had Draco's pride and arrogance, he also displayed a lot of _HER _stubbornness and reckless tendencies – a combination of _four _characteristics that certainly did nothing to make him an easy child to handle.

_Gabriel…On the other hand…Well…_She smiled again and turned her attention back to her younger son, watching as he inadvertently snuggled deeper into his blankets. From what she had seen from him so far, Gabriel was certainly _very _different in terms of nature compared to his older brother.

The younger Malfoy, as ironic as it was, actually reminded her of _herself. _

Even at his young age, Gabriel was more quiet and reserved than any of the other children around him. Unlike his hyperactive twin brother, he preferred to sit off in the far corner of the room with a crayon and paper in his hands – switching his attention every now and then to an occasional puzzle or two but eventually going back to scribbling on dozens of sheets of parchment.

He positively _radiated_ with his father's natural love for learning while displayed Harry's more easygoing temperament – blending in effortlessly with the other children around him and making friends while still exerting his mother's natural skill for leadership in the midst of a big group.

Like Draco, both the twins were very intelligent. She saw that in the way they reacted to certain situations around them and the way they responded to adults with their rapidly expanding vocabulary – obviously collected from talking constantly with their father or their grandfather.

Their magical skills were also exceptionally above normal levels. She could _still _remember the time when Draco had practically jumped around the entire Manor like a little boy when he came home one night to find his twin sons gabbering away in parseltongue with _Septimus – _Lawrence's pet snake.

Although from how she heard it, her twin sons hadn't said anything to the snake in parseltongue except 'hello' and 'goodbye' repeatedly; Harry had found her husband's reaction amusing and had teased him about it the entire night. Draco had been too ecstatic about his discovery to care.

She felt a heavy feeling in her chest as she remembered his genuinely happy expression that night and the way he had smiled at her as though he was the happiest man alive. She hardly _ever _got to see him smiling at her like that now and that realization alone dampened her thoughts again.

_It's not like I don't want to be with my children, Draco…You don't understand me at all._ She told him silently in her head, desperately trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes again.

Truth be told, she was practically killing herself physically everyday just so she could distribute her time to her family as much as was humanely possible. That included taking the more dangerous assignments sometimes just so she could free up occasional afternoons to see the twins.

As much as Draco accused her of being a complete stranger to her children and about the twins being completely indifferent to her, she actually knew so much more about them than he or anyone else realized. Those few fleeting moments in a day that other people may find insignificant were worth more than _anything _to Harry and it was during those moments that she pushed herself to the point of exhaustion just so she could watch her children grow up. She wanted to get to know them as much as she could from her observations – even if they didn't know _her._

A few fleeting minutes before she went off to work. Waking up in the middle of the night to watch her twins sleeping for just a few moments. Sneaking away for several cherished minutes from her assignments just so she could go down to the Ministry Day Care center to watch her sons playing with the other children. Sometimes even giving up time with Draco just so she could be with her sons.

_I don't know what I'm doing wrong…Draco hates me. My sons hate me. I'm so bloody tired every damn night. What more do I have to do? _She asked herself silently as she turned around and slowly slinked back to their bedroom, her shoulders heavy with helpless defeat.

Once she reached the bedroom, she sat down onto the bed and lay back tiredly onto the covers, her green eyes blank and her expression numb as she stared up at the canopy of the bed in silence. Across the hall, she heard Draco conversing loudly with some of his business associates over the phone but she just blinked and turned over to her side, curling herself up into a shivering ball.

_I'm just one person…I'm just one person…I'm just ONE person…_This was the mantra she chanted over and over in her head as she finally gave in and clenched her eyes shut, a single tear escaping her left eye and trailing listlessly down her pale cheek.

_I'm just one person…I'm just one person…I'm just ONE person, damn it…How do I do this?! I'm TRYING my BEST!_ _It still isn't enough…_She buried her face into her pillow to hide her tears, shivering to herself and beginning to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Draco sighed to himself as he entered their silent bedroom a couple of hours later that night, his silver eyes immediately drawn to the frail-looking, slender figure that was curled up near the very edge of the bed. Jaimee had obviously fallen asleep hours ago and was shivering violently to herself amidst the cool night breeze flowing into the room, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

Shaking his head, Draco slowly walked over towards her and very gently pulled the blankets over her shivering form, using the same gesture to tuck her in and brush away the locks of hair that was covering her sleeping face. He felt an aching in his chest as he stared at her features, mildly amused at the way he _still _felt like a lovesick teenager whenever he looked at her beautiful face.

_Still so damn beautiful, Harry…_ Draco thought to himself with a reluctant smile, reaching a hand over to caress her soft cheek. She murmured something incomprehensible in her sleep and shifted slightly under the blankets, turning so that she rested her head better against the pillows.

Draco watched her silently for a long time, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed beside her and reaching out to stroke her hair. Harry was unaware of his presence and slept on peacefully, her breathing even and her body motionless as she continued to sleep on in comfortable silence.

_What's happening to my marriage…? _Draco asked himself silently, his eyes dimming in bitter regret as he finally pulled his hand away from her and forced himself to stand back up. He tore his eyes away from his wife's sleeping figure and slowly walked over to his closet, emerging from it about five minutes later in his pajamas and with a weary expression on his face.

He sat back down on his side of the bed and set his wand on the bedside table, tucking himself underneath the blankets before finally resting his head back against his pillow.

With everything that's happened lately – including the magical plague and the way Harry had been acting around their children – Draco didn't know what to think anymore or how they were going to fix their marriage. Everything just seemed to be one big, incomprehensible mess.

Shaking his head, he turned his head to the side and cast one last look at his wife's sleeping form beside him, wanting nothing more than to touch her and to fall asleep with her cradled in his arms. He couldn't even remember the last time they had properly been intimate with each other – and _that _was saying something, considering Draco was completely insatiable when it came to her.

Finally massaging his temples in defeat, Draco turned back over to his side and grabbed his wand from the table, pointing it at the light above their heads. Once the lights had dimmed and he were surrounded by darkness, he buried his head against his pillows and began to fall asleep.

* * *

Vincent looked up in surprise from his desk in the Ministry office to the sight of a hesitantly smiling Byron Malfoy entering the room – a cup of carefully brewed coffee in his hand. He watched as the younger Unspeakable set the cup of coffee down on his desk before biting his lip and slowly walking over to stand behind him, placing his hands carefully on the Head Unspeakable's shoulders.

"Hey…Thought you could use a drink. You look stressed out." He greeted, bending down so he could peer over the dozens of documents scattered all over Vincent's desk. He used the same maneuver to rest his chin affectionately on Vincent's shoulder, slipping his arms around his waist.

Vincent stiffened at this and looked up quickly to make sure none of the other Unspeakables around the department were looking at them. Once he had ascertained that everyone else was busy with their own work, he sighed and pulled away from Byron in mild annoyance, swiveling his chair around so that he could meet the younger man's golden brown eyes.

"Byron, I _told _you not to do stuff like this in the office. We could get caught and that could mean serious injury to _both _our jobs here." He snapped impatiently, turning around again and setting himself back to work. Byron managed a weak smile at his reaction and shrugged, walking back over to sit down on one of the chairs opposite Vincent's large desk.

"I know…I'm sorry. I guess I just missed spending time with you these past couple of weeks. Everything's been so hectic lately with the pureblood magical disease and all…" He stopped and watched in uncertain silence as Vincent ignored him and continued to sign through a dozen sheets of parchments all at once, pausing every now and then to dip his quill into a bottle of ink.

Despite the other man's silence, Byron continued to speak anyway – lowering his voice into a whisper so that none of the passing Unspeakable agents could hear them. "Anyway…Uhm…I actually came in here to ask you if we were still on for dinner later tonight…" He looked expectantly at Vincent's face, watching as those handsome features creased into a frown of confusion.

The Head Unspeakable paused in the middle of reaching for another report and finally looked up, arching an eyebrow at Byron in query. "Excuse me…? What about tonight?" He asked and he didn't bother waiting for Byron to respond as he turned his attention back to the scattered parchments in front of him, failing to see the slightly crestfallen look on the metamorphagus' face.

"I told you about it a week ago…I have a reservation for us in this new Jazz restaurant that opened up. I thought you knew…" His voice trailed off and he looked up at Vincent again, watching as the other man suddenly froze and flicked his gaze up – his eyes wide in shock and realization.

"Oh…Uhm…That was _tonight?"_ He asked uncertainly, setting his quill down briefly so he could raise his hand and scratch his head. Byron nodded silently, trying not to let the disappointment on his face show as he looked at Vincent's expression. He already knew what was going to happen next.

Vincent sighed and reached a hand towards his quill again, twirling it hesitantly in his fingers as he phrased his next response. "Oh…Uhm…Look…Byron…I don't know if I'll be able to go with you tonight. I just have so much to go through—" He began, his attention momentarily drawn to the horde of messages that suddenly flew into his office and dropped themselves onto the top of his desk.

He picked them up and flipped them open, his eyebrows fusing together again in concentration.

Byron shifted in his seat and let out a disappointed sigh. "Vincent… I've reminded you about this date countless times during the entire _week._ You never said anything about canceling it until tonight. Look, can you please forget about work just this _once _and—"

Vincent set the letters he held in his hand down and shook his head, looking back up and giving the younger man a forced smile.

"—do you think maybe we can reschedule? How about next Friday? I'm really sorry. It's just that…Things are really so busy right now and I have a dozen pending investigations that need to be conducted." He told him, reaching over and placing a hand over the one Byron had on the table.

The dark-haired Malfoy shook his head at this and pulled his hand away, looking down so that the other man couldn't see the sadness that was beginning to seep into his eyes.

Vincent went on anyway, completely oblivious to Byron's facial expression. "Besides, you _know_ that we promised each other not to let this little…_thing…_between us interfere with our work. We both have a lot to do this week. And I really don't want people getting the wrong idea about this—" He murmured pointedly, causing the disappointment in Byron's eyes to harden into anger.

"The…_wrong idea…_?" He drawled back sarcastically but Vincent didn't hear him, his attention once again distracted by two more messages that flew into his office above their heads.

"—this case is hogging up all my time right now and unfortunately, I can't get off tonight. You understand that right? You know me so well." His voice ended up lightly teasing near the end of his sentence but Byron was way past amusement at this point and was already standing up from his seat.

"Fine. Have it your way, Vincent—"

"Great! So I'll just see you at work tomorrow morning then? 8AM? We're scheduled to be at St. Mungo's again tomorrow to talk to some of the Healers about the disease. I told you about that right?" Vincent looked up after he said this and met Byron's expression again, his blue eyes suddenly riveting upwards to focus questioningly on the younger Unspeakable's tense face.

Feeling a surge of anger welling up in his chest, Byron managed a derisive sneer and nodded mockingly in contempt. "Very well…_SIR. _Whatever you say." He retorted coldly and just as Vincent caught the hostility in his voice, he had already whirled around and stalked out of the office – not giving the Head Unspeakable any chance to ask him what was wrong or why he was angry.

He passed by a confused Harry along the corridor and held back a groan. His cousin-in-law was carrying a stack of parchments in her arms and looked as though she was making her way towards Vincent's office. At the concerned look she gave him, Byron hid his face and hastily pushed past her, making his way as fast as he could towards his own office across the hall.

As soon as he was safe in the solitude of his office walls, he collapsed onto the chair behind his desk and buried his face into his hands.

He was finding it more and more difficult to put up with his so-called 'boyfriend's' attitude at this point and quite frankly, he didn't know how much longer he could stand for it. _I'm not going to wait around forever for you, Vincent. Make up your damn mind._ He thought tiredly to himself, massaging his temples in frustration as he took in another deep breath of air.

He must have stayed in that position for a long time because he didn't notice the figure that had suddenly walked into his office and plopped himself down onto the seat opposite him, watching Byron carefully with a slightly concerned face.

"Tired already, Malfoy…? It's too early to take a nap."

Byron jumped at the teasing, familiar voice and looked up from his hands, finding himself staring into the handsome, smiling face of Spencer Addison. Spencer's smile faded, however, when he saw the weary expression on Byron's face and he sat up, raising at eyebrow at the other man in query.

"You okay, By? You look really stressed out…All that Head Officer training must really be getting to you, huh?" He asked in light, cajoling voice, watching as Byron managed a weak laugh at his quip and nodded ruefully, reaching underneath his desk to take out his quill and a bottle of ink.

"I think so, Spence…I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little tired these days from all the late night work. How are _you _holding up so far? You've been doing nothing but search-and-capture assignments lately right?" He asked idly, leaning back against his seat and rewarding Spencer with an easy grin.

Spencer nodded in affirmation and grinned, twirling his wand casually between his fingers.

"You bet your galleons, I have. To be quite honest, it's been a lot of fun. I work with the new recruits and help them out on their first few assignments. It's just unfortunate that I don't get to work with you or Harry anymore." He mused and at this, Byron sat up and offered him a consoling smile.

"For what it's worth, Addison…I'm beginning to miss having someone hitting on me every five minutes too." He kidded, eliciting a snort of laughter from the other man. Byron rolled his eyes to himself and chuckled, reaching over and taking a sip from the glass of water on his table.

"Sorry. But I can't help it if I've always found you irresistible, Malfoy." Was Spencer's only response and in spite of himself, Byron managed a genuine laugh this time and shook his head at the other man's antics. "You never change, do you…? You're still such a horny, perverted prick." He observed and Spencer shrugged in response, ducking his head sheepishly behind his hand.

"Guilty as charged…?"

Byron grinned wider and raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the folders Spencer held in one of his hands. "So what's that for? Did Ashford give you a horde of investigations to go through too? He just gave me and Harry about a whole night's worth of reports to be studied regarding the plague—" He stopped when Spencer shook his head and offered him another impish grin in response.

"These?" He glanced at the documents he held in his hands. "Heck, _no…_These are just reports that I have to sort through and return to their proper filing by this afternoon. I'm actually just going to curl up at home later with a good book for a while. It's been a long time since I read something for leisure." He answered easily, causing one of Byron's eyebrows to arch up in mild surprise.

"Home alone, Addison? What happened to that tall, gorgeous Wizarding lawyer I saw you hanging around with last week?" He asked with a pointed smirk, rolling his eyes in amusement when Spencer just grinned and shrugged, leaning back comfortably against the backrest of his seat.

"Oh _that _guy? That was just a little something I'd like to call a _fling_, Byron. It was fun while it lasted but it wasn't anything serious. He had _really _gorgeous abs though...Mmm." He added after a second thought and at this, Byron cringed to himself and shook his head to clear the images away.

"Ugh…That was more than I needed to know. Keep your sick fantasies to yourself, Spencer." He drawled loudly with a grimace, frowning when Spencer just sniggered at him in response.

Byron stared at the Durmstrang graduate for a couple of minutes in thought, his eyebrows fusing together as he considered the situation. After a long silence, he finally looked back up and met Spencer's hazel-tinted eyes, ignoring the loud voice that was hissing at him warningly inside his head.

_Oh for the love of all things magic, Byron…Don't do it! It'll make things more complicated. Don't you dare! Don't say it— _Byron shook his head to clear the annoying voice away and smiled uncertainly at Spencer, reaching a hand up and brushing back several strands of hair out of his eyes.

"Hey uhm…Spence…" He began uncertainly, nearly regretting his decision a moment later when Spencer's eyes focused intently on him. "Since you're not really doing anything tonight…I have a reservation later at that new Jazz restaurant that just opened near the Ministry." He paused when Spencer's eyebrows rose up in surprise, the other man looking slightly taken back at the invitation.

Byron clarified the rest of his sentence by rushing out his next words. "Vincent was supposed to go with me tonight but he couldn't make it and I figured…Why waste the reservations, right? Do you…Want to come with me later? As _friends_ of course…Not like a date or anything. Don't worry." He reassured him hastily, causing the brief elation on Spencer's face to dim into a small, smile.

In spite of himself, he shrugged anyway and returned Byron's questioning look with a brief nod. "Hey…It's not like I could pass up an opportunity to spend time with you for a boring _book _right? Sure. I'd _love_ to go with you, Byron." He kidded weakly, instantly causing Byron's tense shoulders to relax in relief. The metamorphagus let out a nervous laugh and nodded gratefully in response.

"Great…That's great, Spence! So…Uhm…I'll come drop by your office at around eight? Will you be coming from an assignment?" He asked but Spencer just shook his head and gave him another disarming smile. "I'll be coming from an assignment but eight is fine. I'm pretty sure I'll be done by then. But uh…Are you sure about this, Byron? I mean…Won't Ashford get mad or something—"

Byron cut off the rest of his concerns with a single wave of his hand, looking way from him so Spencer couldn't see the bitterness in his brown eyes. "It's fine, Spence. I—it's not like Vincent would ever notice _anything_ anyway besides his work so don't worry about it. We're going out as _friends._" He told him, watching as Spencer nodded uncertainly and finally rose up from his seat.

"Alright…Well…In that case, I'd better get back to work. I just came in here to check up on you. So…I'll see you later at eight then? Is that a formal restaurant by the way?" He asked all of a sudden, eliciting an amused laugh from Byron as he rolled his eyes and nodded in affirmation. "Yes, it is. So you'd better appear in something decent. That means _NO _leather, Addison."

Spencer made a face at him but laughed good-naturedly and nodded, turning around and finally exiting the room towards his office. Byron watched him leaving for a couple of minutes with a blank expression on his face, his eyes widening in surprise a minute later when he finally noticed the figure of one very shocked and slightly dazed Vincent Ashford frozen just outside his office.

The handsome Head Unspeakable stood a couple of feet away from Byron's office entrance and looked thoroughly uncomfortable, blinking to himself for several times as though in disbelief. When he finally came around, he forced a smile and walked into the metamorphagus' room.

At his sudden entrance, Byron rose up sharply from his seat and walked towards him, shoving his hands awkwardly into his robe pockets. "Vincent, I uhm—"

Vincent shook his head and held up a hand to silence him, a weak, forced laugh escaping his throat. "I uh…I just came here to give you the details about your assignment later. Here…" He cleared his throat and handed Byron the folder in his hand, flicking his eyes down and avoiding his eyes.

Byron took it from him and kept his expression emotionless, noting the definite tenseness of Vincent's shoulders and the way he was clenching his jaw in unkempt anger. Luckily enough, he didn't have to wait long before the slightly older man looked up and gave him an obviously plastered smile.

"So…Uhm…You and Addison, huh? I overheard your conversation just now. You're going out tonight instead?" He asked in an all too nonchalant tone of voice, his smile just a _little _too eerily friendly for Byron's liking. Byron sighed and nodded, placing the folder carefully on top of his desk.

"Yeah…I guess we are. Listen, Vincent…If that's not okay with you, you can tell me. I don't exactly know the current status of our relationship right now so I wouldn't know what to think—"

Vincent cut him off with another forced laugh and firmly shook his head – unaware of the way his eyes were glinting with jealousy. "N—no, no! That's _fine! _That's fine, I don't mind at all! I think it's great that you two are spending time together. I'm perfectly okay with it. I am!" He rushed out; ignoring the way Byron was looking at him with a mixture of disappointment and confusion.

"Vincent—"

The Head Unspeakable smiled again and nodded, turning around so fast that his robes swished dramatically behind him. "A—anyway, I'd better get back to work…Have fun tonight alright? I'll see you at 8AM sharp tomorrow at St. Mungo's… Alright? Don't be late." He didn't bother waiting for Byron to answer as he stalked out of the office, closing the door loudly behind him.

* * *

"_You 'ave been avoiding me, love… 'Ave you grown tired of me already?" _

Anton smirked to himself and rolled his eyes when he heard his mistress's pouty, sultry voice over his muggle cellphone that same night. He flicked his eyes up to the door of the Malfoy Manor living room to make sure he was completely alone before he chuckled and plopped himself down lazily onto the couch, propping his two feet up onto the coffee table in front of him.

"Of course not, Sophie…How could I _ever _grow tired of such a gorgeous woman?" He drawled back automatically, leaning his head back against the couch as he pressed his cellphone closer against his ear. He heard Sophie's teasing giggle on the other line, followed by another flirtatious response.

"_Hmm…Zhen you will come visit me tonight? Are you free…? I 'ave missed you so badly zese days…I want you 'ere."_ She sniffed dramatically for effect, bringing another fond smirk to Anton's lips as he rolled his eyes to himself and brushed back several strands of blonde hair out of his eyes.

"I've missed you too, love…I have. I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you these past couple of days, it's just that…My family has been hosting a lot of social gatherings lately." He answered her, purposely leaving the part out about his wife. Unfortunately, Sophie seemed to bring the subject up anyway and he could almost hear the scowl in her voice when she answered him.

"_Hmmph. Now by 'family gazhering', do you mean you 'ave been spending time with 'er? Zis redheaded ball-and-chain of yours?" _She mocked impatiently and at her words, Anton felt a surge of irritation, his blue eyes flashing in anger. "Sophie, that happens to be my _wife_ you're talking about. And _yes, _if you must know…I _have _spent the last few days with her. She _IS _my legal spouse, after all." He retorted, rolling his eyes again when Sophie feigned a broken-hearted whimper on the other line.

"_But…Zat is unfair, my darling…You know zat I 'ave been missing you terribly…Please come 'ere to see me tonight. I will make it worth your time…" _She giggled and let her voice trail off suggestively after she had said this, piquing Anton's interest as he sat up and chuckled in response.

"Oh really…? Well in that case—Wait. Hold on a second, Sophie."

He paused and covered the phone's mouthpiece with his hand just as he felt someone enter the living room and looking up; Anton directed a sheepish smile at Draco just as his older cousin entered the room. One look at Anton's suspicious stance was all it took for Draco to scoff in disgust and roll his eyes at him. The Malfoy Head turned and made his way down the hallway towards the libraries, leaving his younger cousin watching him cautiously until he had turned the corner.

Once he was certain that he was alone again, Anton finally pressed the phone against his ear again and leaned back against the couch. "Isn't your husband supposed to be back from his trip tonight, Sophie? Are you sure you want me there? We could get caught." He teased back pointedly, smirking to himself again when Sophie answered him with a nonchalant scoff.

"_Oh please…'e does not get back until tomorrow, darling. Frankly, I would 'ave preferred it if 'e 'ad stayed zhere. 'e is completely boring and unsatisfying…Unlike you." _She murmured in a seductive purr again and this time, the lust in her voice brought a shiver of desire down Anton's spine.

"Hmm…Well, how can I resist those words?" He heard her laughing to herself in triumph on the other line. "What time should I be over there, ma chérie? I can probably leave after a couple of hours." He told her pointedly, waiting as Sophie paused on the other line in thought.

"_I will be completely alone tonight at around eight…Would you like to 'ave dinner 'ere, my love? And zhen afterwards…I can whip up a little…some-zhing for you for…dessert."_ Her voice ended in such a sultry chuckle after she had said this that Anton's eyes darkened with lust again and he straightened up in his seat, setting his feet down from the table.

"You little tease…Alright…I'll be there at eight. Wait for me." He hissed back into the phone, his blue eyes narrowing impatiently when Sophie just answered with another light, flirtatious laugh just before she cut the line off, leaving the half-veela to his own thoughts.

He carefully placed the phone back in his robe pockets, crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch again, his eyes flicking up to stare at the beautiful diamond chandelier above his head. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the door to the living room open again until a figure suddenly sat down beside him, causing the Malfoy son to jump in surprise.

An irritated retort already forming on his lips, he was just about to turn to his intruder and snap out something nasty at him or her when he found himself staring intently at his wife's smiling face instead, her youthful features aglow with warmth and happiness as she regaled him with a smile. Ginny's long red hair was pulled back from her head with a simple clip and her blue eyes glowed brightly amidst her pale skin and the adorable freckles that grazed along her cheeks.

She laughed at his speechless reaction and poked him in the ribs, bringing the half-veela out of his self-induced, speechless stupor. "Are you alright, Anton? You silly git, you're spacing out! Gaping and speechless idiot definitely does not suit you at all." She teased him lightly, causing Anton to blink himself out of his daze and answer her with a soft, amused laugh.

"Yeah…Sorry about that. I was just thinking about something…I uhm…It's just that…You look…_really pretty_ in that dress." He told her awkwardly, feeling an unfamiliar heat rushing into his cheeks as he gestured to the light blue sleeveless dress that wrapped snugly around his wife's form.

Ginny looked genuinely surprised at his compliment and looked down at her attire, her own cheeks flushing delicately in pleasure and mild embarrassment.

"Oh…Thank you…" She answered with a short laugh, nodding her gratitude. "Lorraine actually helped me pick this out this afternoon in Diagon Alley. Your sister has a _serious _addiction with shopping." She quipped, earning another laugh from Anton as he nodded and gave her a rueful smile.

"That she does…But then again…So do _you._ I've just received this month's charges on my account. Fifty thousand galleons on _shoes, _Ginny?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow, his stern expression dissolving into another disarming grin when Ginny flushed to herself in embarrassment.

"Y—yeah…Uhm…About that…I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. Don't worry, I can pay for it with my own money—" She stopped when Anton cut her off with a laugh, shaking his head at her sudden awkwardness. "Don't worry about it, love. I was just teasing. My mother spends about _twice_ that amount on shoes and accessories, I'm quite used to it. Spend all you like." He assured her, bringing a bright smile to Ginny's face as she nodded in agreement.

"Alright...Then spend I shall." She quipped, the smirk on her face causing Anton's smile to widen in amusement. He gestured to the envelope she held in her hand, raising an eyebrow at it in mild curiosity. "What's that you've got there? Not another love letter from some new romantic conquest, I hope…?" He grumbled, earning a laugh from Ginny as she shook her head at his words.

"Nothing like that, Anton…It's actually an invitation to go see that new magical play in London. I promised your grandmother and Lorraine that I'd go watch it with them tonight. My mother is also coming. I'm really excited. I've heard good reviews about it." She told him, the excitement in her voice so infectious that Anton couldn't prevent himself from mirroring her bright smile.

"That's wonderful, Ginny…I'm sure you'll have a great time then. Tell me all about it tomorrow alright?" Ginny frowned at his words and fused her eyebrows together in confusion. "Tomorrow? But won't you be home tonight, honey?" She asked and at this, Anton froze and bit his lip, racking his brain for the right combination of words to say.

"Unfortunately, Gin…I've got to go back to the office later and… fix up some stuff. I probably won't get home until morning so don't wait up for me. I need to…Be somewhere. You girls just go and have fun, alright? I'm sure you four stunning women will take London by storm tonight." He winked at her, causing Ginny to groan again and pretend to gag at his words.

"There goes your tongue again, Malfoy. Always managing to save you out of any situation you get yourself in…I should _really _cut it off." She kidded, watching as Anton chuckled and answered her with a mischievous smirk. "I'm a Malfoy _son._ Of course I have a skilled tongue. In more ways than one." He gave her a suggestive look, causing his wife to roll her eyes to herself in helpless annoyance.

"Oh _you—_"

Ginny stopped herself midsentence when her own muggle cellphone blared to life in her purse, drawing both hers and Anton's attention to it as she brought it out of her bag. She held a finger up at him to excuse herself before she flicked the phone open and pressed it against her ear, rising up out of her seat so she could walk to the end of the room.

From where he still sat on the couch, Anton listened to her hushed conversation for several minutes, noting the disappointed slump in his wife's slim shoulders.

"_Uh-huh…Yeah…Okay…I understand, Lorraine. No…That's okay. It really is. It's not your fault."_

Anton raised an eyebrow in query, standing up and walking over to where Ginny was standing.

"_Okay…I suppose next time then. No that's okay. We'll still have fun. I know. I'm sorry too."_

Ginny held up a hand to silence Anton again just as he opened his mouth to ask her what was happening. She shook her head at him and indicated for him to be quiet, pressing her cellphone closer against her ear and cupping her hand over the mouthpiece.

"_Alright then, Lorraine…It's really no problem. Uh-huh…Uh-huh...Absolutely. Will do…I'll tell him right now. He's right here in the room with me. Okay…I'll see you then. Alright. Bye." _

She flicked her phone off and shoved the device right back into her purse, turning around and meeting Anton's questioning look with a sad shake of her head. "That was your sister. She said she won't be able to make it tonight with us." She began slowly, her voice heavy with disappointment.

Anton offered her a consoling smile as reached over to tuck a loose strand of red hair behind her ear, using the same gesture to cup her cheek.

Ginny blushed at this but continued anyway, flicking her blue eyes down to the floor. "Chessie caught a bit of a cold this morning and so Lorraine has to stay home and take care of her. Oh well…I was looking forward to having Lorraine there too. It'll be horribly awkward later if it's just me…Your grandmother…And my mother." She mused, letting out a heavy sigh.

Chuckling to himself, Anton shook his head and offered her a noncommittal shrug. "Oh come on, Ginny…How bad could it be? My grandmother is a _very _gentle woman and your mother—"

"—absolutely hates your guts, Anton. I know." She retorted bluntly, causing Anton to blink in slight surprise as Ginny chuckled weakly and sank back down onto the couch. She sighed again as he took the seat beside her, turning to watch the crestfallen look on her young features.

"Very well…I suppose I'll have to learn how to get through tonight somehow. Anyway, wish me luck. I'm going to go get changed right now. My mother will be arriving here in about an hour." She told him and just as she was about to stand up and walk out of the living room, Anton surprised her by placing a hand over hers and keeping her firmly in place.

She froze and turned to look at him in question, her eyebrows fusing together even more when she was met with the thoughtful, slightly mischievous expression on her husband's face. After blinking to himself for several minutes in thought, he finally raised an eyebrow and looked at her, the corners of his lips quirking upwards into a handsome, lazy grin.

"…Why don't _I _go with you in Lorraine's place instead, Ginny…?"

The serious expression on Anton's face instantly caused Ginny's eyes to widen in incredulous disbelief. She gazed at him as though he had just turned into a dragon or a flobberworm, the frown on her face slowly giving way into an uncertain, genuinely surprised grimace.

After several minutes of her gaping at him, she finally found her voice and spoke again – the grimace on her face slowly transforming into a forced smile. "Anton…Don't be silly. What's with _this_ all of a sudden? Like I said, my mother _hates _you and you said that you don't like these shows—"

Anton chuckled lightly and nodded in agreement, giving her another easy shrug.

"True…Too true, Ginny…But then again…Don't you think it's _precisely _because of the fact that your mother hates me that I should strive to win her over? Wouldn't you agree with me that by accompanying her to this show tonight and showing her my charms, I just may be able to do just that?" He teased, the truth in his words finally eliciting a helpless laugh from his wife.

"Well…If you insist…B—but didn't you just say that you had work to attend to tonight?" She reminded him again but Anton just grinned and waved the concern away, reaching over and taking her hand into his. "Don't worry about that. Work can easily be cast aside when it pertains to matters of the family." He answered calmly, drawing another lovely blush from his wife.

"A—alright…If you really want to, then that would be great. I'll go and tell Genevieve right now that you'll be attending with us in Lorraine's place." She told him uncertainly, slowly rising out of the couch and making her way towards the entrance to the living room.

Just as she reached the end of the room, however, she turned around one last time and gave Anton a slightly suspicious look, her blue eyes narrowing at him in disbelief.

"Are you honestly _sure _you want to come with us tonight, Anton…? I mean…You really don't have to do this. If you really want to be…_somewhere else…_that's fine too. It really is. That _was _the deal we made, right?" She spoke softly, the uneasy tone of her voice sending a clear signal to Anton of exactly what she really meant to say.

Instead of answering her question directly, Anton just offered her another handsome – though slightly nervous smile – and nodded, looking directly into her face and meeting her eyes with his own.

"I can assure you, Ginny…It's fine. There's really nowhere else I'd rather be tonight than with you. I would _love _to accompany you later." He answered easily, failing to see the direct effect his words had on his wife as she blinked and sharply turned away from him to hide her face.

"V—very well…I'll go tell Genevieve right now and get ready. Thank you…"

She looked up and offered him one last beautiful smile before turning around and hurrying out of the large living room, closing the doors gently behind her. Once she had gone and Anton found himself alone once more, he sighed and reached into his robe pockets for his muggle cellphone again – holding it up to the light so he could punch in Sophie's number.

"I'm terribly sorry, ma chérie… I won't be able to make it tonight after all. I…have plans."

* * *

Draco couldn't help chuckling in mild amusement as he listened to Blaise, Theodore, and Malcolm cracking lewd jokes to one another in idle boredom, all four of which were currently in Draco's MMC office and were seated along the lush couches overlooking the beautiful London skyline.

His Slytherin friends were hanging out in his office after lunch that afternoon and had currently spent the last forty five minutes regaling Draco with several of their amusing stories and marital experiences thus far. The Malfoy Head was seated behind his office desk across the room and was watching them with a smirk on his face, shaking his head at their boyish antics.

"You are a _sick pervert_, Nott!" Blaise drawled out loud with a disgusted shake of his head, causing the other two to burst out into sniggers again. Draco hid his own laugh beside his hand and watched as Theodore straightened up in his seat and directed his grin to Draco across the room.

"Hey, that wasn't _me!_ Malfoy gave me that idea! I was just trying it out! In all honesty, I wasn't really able to hold out long…Position was just _too _tiring." He complained loudly and ignoring the scandalized look Blaise shot at him, Draco scoffed and answered Theodore with an arrogant sneer.

"That's probably because you have low _stamina_, Nott. I was at it for almost more than half an hour when—" He stopped when Blaise exploded again, holding his hands over his ears and shaking his head furiously to block out the rest of Draco's words.

"Argh! My ears are bleeding! I do _NOT _want to hear about _ANY _of your sexual positions or physical stamina! That means _ALL _of you!" He snapped at Theodore and Malcolm beside him, causing them to break out into laughter once more.

Draco tried to snigger along with his friends but his laughter eventually died out and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, raising an eyebrow to himself in deep thought. Fortunately, his friends didn't seem to notice his sudden silence and began to talk amongst themselves again, their voices echoing clearly in the silence of Draco's large office.

"Any news on Cunningham's condition yet?" Malcolm asked Blaise just as the Italian Head sat back down against his seat. Taking a sip from his glass of water, Blaise nodded and looked up to meet the rest of their terse faces. "Yeah, just this morning. Pansy said that he just went into comatose…" He told them, causing Malcolm and Theodore to pale in shock while Draco fell deathly silent.

Theodore raised a hand and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, giving the other two men a strange look. "From what I read in the newspapers lately, it seems _all _the victims eventually go into comatose…None of them have died yet so far but they all lose consciousness and fall into comatose about two to three days after they first collapsed." He thought out loud and Malcolm nodded in agreement, pausing to take a sip of his own drink before he responded.

"I heard from some of my other friends that Winchester caught the disease too. Along with that clumsy idiot Longbottom. In all honesty, this is all beginning to freak me out." He told them with a shake of his head. Listening to their words, Blaise sighed again and buried his face into his hands.

"Let's just hope for the best and that no more of us catch it. The Ministry is taking all the necessary measures against it already and Hermione told me that they're releasing in the newspapers tomorrow more preventive measures for purebloods to take to prevent themselves from catching the disease." He told them, earning himself several reluctant nods from his two friends.

Amidst all this, Draco continued to remain silent across the room and listened distractedly to their conversation, his thoughts obviously still elsewhere. Still failing to notice this, Malcolm spoke up again and tried to lighten everyone's mood by giving Blaise another impish grin and wink.

"In any case…Would you care to suggest any positions of yours to us, Zabini?" Blaise choked on his drink when Malcolm had said this, looking up and meeting the other man's smirk with another shocked, scandalized glare. "Excuse me?! Pellerin, I am _NOT _going to tell you the positions I use—"

"Aw come on, mate…Don't be selfish! We're all men here and it's all a matter of sharing moves with one another! If you want, I can even lend you this book I have. It has—" Theodore stopped in the middle of his sentence when Blaise shook his head again and silenced him with a single, warning glare.

"I do _NOT _want to borrow your perverted book of Merlin knows what and if you two sick gits don't shut up right now, I'm going to—" Malcolm and Theodore both burst out laughing at Blaise's angry expression, finally breaking Draco's inner monologue with himself and causing him to look up at them with a sheepish, slightly reluctant expression on his face.

"Hey… Speaking of that…I'm a little curious here. Can I ask you guys something?" He spoke all of a sudden, drawing all three of his friends' attention to him as they looked up and gave him a questioning look. At their stares, Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat again and cleared his throat.

"Have you guys ever experienced…I don't know…A _down cycle_ or something sometime during your marriage? You know…_Sexually speaking…_I mean…" He added hastily to clarify himself when they looked confused. At his words, his friends' eyebrows arched up in utter shock and speechless stupor.

They stared at him in awkward silence for several minutes – obviously trying to think of the best response. It was Blaise who spoke up first and he gave his best friend a grimace of disbelief.

"Just what are you trying to say here, Draco? Are you saying you haven't slept with your wife for awhile, is that it? And you're asking if it's normal?" Draco felt his face heat up and sneered angrily when Malcolm and Theodore turned their face away from him in a poor attempt to hide their sniggers.

Blaise ignored their reactions and kept his face neutral as he met Draco's slightly embarrassed face. The Malfoy Head silenced the rest of Theodore and Malcolm's laughter with a single, icy glare, causing both former Slytherins to wince to themselves and immediately fall silent in their seats. Turning his attention back to Blaise, Draco sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say that. I'm just worried—"

He stopped when Blaise just laughed and shook his head at Draco's worried expression. "Oh come on, Draco! You and Potter go at it like bloody _rabbits!_ I think you're exaggerating this. How long could it have possibly been? Three days? A week at most?" He asked but he immediately fell silent when Draco looked up, shook his head and answered him with a weak, pointed smirk.

"Nearly _TWO_ months actually…Give or take a few days. I'm not exactly sure at this point."

Blaise and Malcolm both gaped openly at him while Theodore looked at Draco as though he was insane, shaking his head and blinking at him several times as though to make sure he had heard right. When his friends had finally regained their senses, Theodore ended up bursting into amused laughter – causing Draco's eyes to flash as he glared at the other former Slytherin in mild annoyance.

"_TWO _months?! Son of a bleeding banshee, Malfoy! How are you holding up so long?" He sniggered, ignoring the warning look Blaise shot him from the end of the couch. Malcolm also looked up at Draco and gave him an incredulous smirk, shaking his head and sniggering behind his hand.

"Let me get this straight, Draco…You are married to one of the _hottest_ women I have ever seen in my _lifetime _and you haven't slept with her in _TWO MONTHS?_" Malcolm took another sip of his drink before setting the glass back down and giving Draco a sympathetic shake of his head. "That is definitely _NOT _normal mate. Not at all." He told him and Theodore nodded behind him in agreement.

Draco rolled his eyes at their reactions and finally rose up from his seat, burying his face into his hands as he walked over to his window and peered down at the streets below. "It's just…We've both been so bloody _BUSY _these last couple of months that we hardly even _SEE _each other." He growled under his breath, failing to see the pointed look Blaise was giving him from behind.

"I hate to agree with these bastards but I think they're right, Draco. I don't think that's normal in a marriage. I think you and Potter need to sort this out before anything else." He told him calmly and Draco was just about to respond to this when the magical intercom on his desk suddenly blared to life behind them, drawing all four men's attention to it from across the room.

"_Sir…? The finance department has just submitted their report to me right here. Shall I bring it into your office for you? I also made you another cup of coffee in case you might want some." _

Natasha's feminine voice echoed around the room, causing Draco to sigh and walk back over to his desk to answer her. "That will be fine, Natasha. Bring in the documents now." He told her and before any of his friends could say anything, the large double doors to his office opened and the curvaceous form of his secretary sauntered in – a folder in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

As always, the sultry blonde was wearing a very tight and revealing outfit that certainly did not go unnoticed by Theodore and Malcolm's roaming eyes. The minute she bowed respectfully to them, the two former Slytherins looked up over her shoulder and gave Draco a mischievous wink.

Draco shared a disgusted look with Blaise, shaking his head as Natasha straightened and placed the folder and coffee on his desk, looking up and making sure to address Draco with one of her well-practiced, gorgeous smiles. "Can I do anything else for you, Master Malfoy?" She asked him sweetly in a light, flirtatious voice but Draco just shook his head and sat back down behind his desk.

"No. that's fine. Just be sure to confirm all my meetings and appointments for this afternoon. You may go." He answered automatically, giving her a curt nod of dismissal.

She bowed to him again after he had said this and exited his office – her slender figure swaying seductively as she walked out the double doors. Once she was gone, Malcolm turned to Draco again and rewarded his former housemate with a wide, highly suggestive grin.

He whistled and pretended to loosen the buttons of his collar, flicking his eyes back over to where Natasha had exited the office. "Well…You certainly gave yourself a treat when you hired that feisty little work of art, huh?" Again, he ignored Blaise's warning glare and continued to speak despite the _very _dangerous glint that was beginning to harden in Draco's fierce eyes.

"If Potter doesn't want you, I'm wiling to bet _SHE _does, Malfoy. Why don't you try her out? That ought to help you with your two-month dry spell." He drawled loudly and before Blaise _or _Theodore had any time to react to this, Draco was up on his feet immediately and had stalked across the room, seizing Malcolm up by the front of his robes and pulling him to his feet.

The former Prince of Slytherin ignored Blaise's quelling protests and let out a menacing growl, yanking his wand out of his pocket and pressing it very threateningly against Malcolm's throat. A malevolent sneer was forming on his face and he positively _shook _with unkempt anger. He held his former housemate up higher, sneering wider when Malcolm's feet began to dangle above the ground.

"Draco! Don't bother! Just calm down—"

"Let's get one thing _STRAIGHT_ between the two of us, Pellerin…" Draco seethed out loud in an angry hiss, pressing his wand harder against Malcolm's throat. He ignored Blaise and Theodore's loud protests and felt a perverse sense of satisfaction when he saw the unmistakable fear flashing in Malcolm's wide eyes. "M—Malfoy, hold on a minute here…I was just kidding! I—I didn't mean—"

Blaise and Theodore stood up cautiously from their seats and tried to approach them, their eyes flicking back and forth between Draco's snarling face and Malcolm's terrified expression. The former Prince of Slytherin, however, ignore their presence completely – his eyes narrowing into angry slits as he glared at Malcolm's pale, nervously cringing features.

"I'm known to be a _LOT _of different things to different people…" Draco began, stopping dramatically to make sure he had Malcolm's full attention. "Most people would even call me an _arse_ or a coldhearted bastard on some occasions and to be quite honest, I wouldn't actually blame them—" Draco laughed harshly after he said this, the sound causing Blaise and Theodore to flinch again.

But then, Draco's mercury eyes suddenly hardened like steel as they flicked back to Malcolm's shaking form, causing the other man to gulp as the blonde easily held him up higher into the air.

"—Like I said…I may be a lot of different things, Pellerin…I may _be _a coldhearted bastard. I may tear your eyes right out of their sockets right now and believe me…I will _ENJOY _it. But rest assured; I am _NOT_ some sick, _PATHETIC_ excuse of a man who cheats on his wife!" He shoved Malcolm away roughly, causing his former housemate to grunt and stumble backwards against the couch.

Theodore stepped forward to stop them but apparently, Draco wasn't finished yet. He stepped towards Malcolm again, keeping his wand pointed on his former housemate's cowering form. "_UNLIKE _you…I was raised with self-respect. I _LOVE _my wife and if you _EVER _say anything like that to me again, I will skin you _ALIVE_!" He hissed out and when Malcolm looked as though he was about to fight back, Blaise finally jumped in and pulled Draco away from the other Slytherin in growing trepidation.

"Alright, alright! Stop it already, Draco!" He rushed out, holding his best friend back as Theodore helped Malcolm up onto his feet, the latter of the two men suddenly looking up and glaring at Draco with utmost contempt in his eyes. He snarled in anger, brushing the dirt off his robes and giving Draco one last mocking sneer. "Tss…For all we know, Potter may be sleeping with some other lucky bastard already…That's probably why she won't sleep with _YOU—"_

The rest of his sarcastic retort was cut off when Draco broke free from Blaise's grip, raised a hand and slammed his fist right into Malcolm's jaw, causing both Blaise and Theodore to step away from him in shock just as Malcolm was forced to reel back, clutching at his face in pain.

Draco sneered sadistically at this, raising his wand again and pointing it Malcolm's furious face.

"Get out of my office…_Now._" He hissed in a low, menacing growl, watching with narrowed gray eyes as Malcolm froze and slowly began reaching for the wand in his own robes. Theodore stepped in immediately, grabbing Malcolm from behind and yanking him away before a serious fight broke out.

"Malcolm…Come on…Let's go. I think he's serious." Theodore said quietly, pulling the other man away towards the door. Blaise watched them leaving the office for several minutes before he turned his attention back to Draco, noting the definite tenseness of his best friend's shoulders.

He opened his mouth to say something else but Draco beat him to it and shook his head again, turning away and walking back over to his desk. "That means you too, Zabini…Get out." He drawled in a tired tone of voice, sighing as he collapsed onto his chair and buried his face into his hands.

Blaise stared at him, his eyebrows fusing together in uncertainty. "Draco—"

The young Malfoy Head violently slammed his fist onto his desk, flicking his steely eyes back up and leveling Blaise with an angry, impatient glare.

"_I SAID GET OUT, BLAISE! JUST FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" _

Blaise finally flinched at Draco's explosion and took a careful step back, shaking his head to himself as he hastily made his way towards the door. As soon as the Italian Head had left the large room and the doors to the office had closed shut, Draco let out another frustrated exhale of breath and slumped in his seat, covering his face with his hands in defeat.

_Everything's falling apart._

* * *

**A/N: **Aw… Poor Draco. Poor Harry. *sniff* Everything _does _seem to be falling apart for them doesn't it? *winces at all the glares she receives from her readers* Ehehe. Like I said, every story needs a downpoint for it to be good right? :D This story has about 12 more chapters left at this point so be sure to keep reading alright? And don't worry…Like I always say, I am a _sucker _for happy endings. ;)

**Next Chapter: **Harry hanging out with Ron, More purebloods collapse, More Marital complications

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	14. Rollercoaster

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Hmm. Will update Phoenix Tears first before I post the next chapter of this story. Sorry for the delay. A lot has really happened lately. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't hate me!

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Rollercoaster**

Harry couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped her lips as she watched Ron's entire face turn red with anger. She and her redheaded best friend were hanging out in a corner booth at a newly opened restaurant bar in Diagon Alley that evening and Ron had pretty much spent the last fifteen minutes berating his assistant over the phone about some apparent mix-up at work.

After about five more minutes of yelling and practically cursing his poor newly graduated assistant to hell, Ron finally flicked his phone back off and shoved it into his pocket in annoyance. Growling under his breath, he snatched the bottle of firewhiskey in front of him and took a long satisfying swig. Harry shook her head at his expression, her lips quirking into a small smirk.

"…Trouble at the office, mate?" She asked casually, taking a sip from her own bottle of firewhiskey as her eyes idly inspected the newly built surroundings of the restaurant around them. Ron answered her with another grunt and nodded, slamming his bottle of firewhiskey back down.

"Ugh. Let's not talk about work tonight anymore, Harry. I'm already too stressed out." He groaned, finally looking up and rewarding Harry with a small, otherwise friendly smile. "So what's up with you these days, anyway? I hardly get to see you around that much. Busy with training too?" He gave her a sympathetic smile to which Harry answered with a rueful grin and nod.

"Yeah...Sorry about that, mate. I've been swamped with so much work these days. You're training to be Head too, you should know all about that." She stopped at this and bit her lip, raising her bottle of firewhiskey to her lips again as she tried to think of the next words she was going to say.

"Say…Ron…Can I ask you something personal?" She looked up at him and gave him a slightly embarrassed look, causing Ron to blink and level her with a suspicious look. When he nodded hesitantly, she felt her cheeks heating up as she forced herself to speak. "You know…By personal, I mean…Pertaining to issues usually only known between a husband and his wife?" She would have continued but Ron suddenly cut her off, shaking his head furiously and giving her a disgusted glare.

"Harry…If you're going to start asking me advice about the weird, perverted stuff you and Malfoy do to each other in the bedroom, I'd rather not hear it. No offense." He answered bluntly, inciting an easy laugh from his best friend when she heard the genuinely disturbed disgust on his face.

Thinking more about his words, however, Harry's laughter immediately faded and in its place was an uncertain grimace. "That's…Just it, Ron. Is it normal for a married couple our age to…Well…You know…to _NOT_ have sex for a certain period time?"

Ron narrowed his eyes at her and gave her another suspicious look. "How long exactly a period are we talking about here, Harry…?

She winced and managed a slightly sheepish smile when she answered. "Not long… Just…About two months—" Ron began choking on his drink in shock, cutting off the rest of Harry's response. Flushing in embarrassment, she reached over and handed Ron a glass of water, waiting until the redhead's coughing had subsided before she said anything else.

When Ron finally set the half-empty glass of water back down, he looked back and gaped at her as though she was the most ignorant person on the planet. "Harry, you were a man once. _YOU _should know, above all other women, that there is _NO_ such thing as a man not wanting to have sex with his wife as often as possible—" He paused briefly, watching as Jaimee sighed and nodded ruefully.

"I know…I _know _that, Ron. I just—"

"—unless he was _GAY. _In your case, I should hope _NOT_ because then that would be the most ironic thing in the world. I mean…You _are _a woman now partially thanks to Malfoy." Ron added as an afterthought, causing Jaimee to laugh again and roll her eyes at her best friend's antics.

"I know…You're right. I'm just…I'm a little worried about my marriage lately. We've both just been so busy these last few months and we have the twins so—"

_"Well, well, well…Look what the cat dragged in." _

Harry stopped immediately at the sound of the familiar voice. Both she and Ron looked up, blinking in surprise at the sound of the nearby entrance doors to the restaurant sliding open. They found themselves staring in stunned realization at the familiar, widely grinning faces of Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas – both of which had stopped and were standing beside their booth.

At the sight of their former Gryffindor housemates, Harry and Ron began laughing and jumped up excitedly from their seats, nearly tripping over each other in their haste to greet the two men.

"Seamus! Dean! Bloody hell, you two! What are you both doing here?! We haven't seen you two since graduation!" Ron burst out into a friendly laugh, exchanging handshakes and light punches to the shoulder with Seamus and Dean before stepping back and allowing Harry to do the same.

"Yeah! You two haven't written at all or kept in touch after Hogwarts. We didn't know where to find you." Harry agreed and once she and Dean had exchanged a brief hug, all four former Gryffindors settled themselves back into the booth and began to talk loudly amongst themselves to catch up.

Seamus grinned at them and slung an arm around Dean's shoulders, giving Ron and Harry an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, you guys….Dean and I kind of spent the last couple of years away from the Wizarding World for awhile." He told them, causing Harry and Ron to look at them in surprise.

Dean nodded ruefully and offered another friendly smile. "I introduced Seamus to my parents and family after graduation. After we got married, we've been kind of inactive from magic and spent the last couple of years living with muggles. It was fun but after awhile, we decided to come back. We missed everyone." He winked after this, causing Harry to laugh and Ron to roll his eyes at them.

"Marriage huh? How have you guys been? You didn't exactly invite any of us to the wedding." Harry told them, feigning a glare. Seamus answered her with another apologetic smile and shook his head. "It was just a small ceremony, Harry… Just family. We've been married for—" He showed them the wedding band on his ring finger. "—About 3 years now I suppose. Life is good."

Jaimee smiled at this and nodded in understanding while Ron turned back to Dean and raised a curious eyebrow. "So what are you two doing here? Were you two out shopping for something?" He asked, raising his hand and indicating to a nearby waitress to bring them more bottles of firewhiskey.

Dean smiled secretively to himself and shrugged, indicating nonchalantly to their artistically decorated surroundings. "Actually…I _OWN _this joint, Ron—"

Ron's eyes widened and he accidentally began choking on his drink but Dean continued. "—I just had it opened about a week ago. It was a real success; I had it patterned after a bar-themed restaurant in the muggle world." He told them, causing Jaimee to look at him in appraisal.

Seamus smiled proudly as Dean said this and nodded, indicating cheerfully to their surroundings. "He came up with the idea last year and he wouldn't stop talking about it since then. It's been a real hit so far…It was actually featured in one of Witch Weekly's articles." He told them, earning more surprised grins from both Ron and Harry as they listened to him.

Ron took another sip of his drink and shook his head in amazement.

"Bloody hell…And to think Harry and I just came in here because one of my coworkers suggested it had great drinks." Dean grinned at them again at the compliment. "One question though…Why'd you name it _The Common Room? _Any references there?" Ron asked jokingly as he continued, much to Dean's amusement as he grinned wider and nodded in acknowledgment.

"The idea just kind of hit me. I thought of all those times we Gryffindors would drink the night away in the common room back at Hogwarts. I loved those times." He answered with a noncommittal shrug, causing Harry and Ron to grin at him in agreement as they recalled the fond memory.

"Actually…If you're both interested, we'll be having a lot of promotional parties this entire month. You two should drop by if you have time." Seamus suddenly cut in, signaling to one of the nearby waitresses again to bring them another fresh round of drinks. Dean opened his mouth to continue for him but Seamus plowed on, his eyes glowing brightly with excitement.

"There's actually one going to be held tomorrow, we'll be having a lot of our old Hogwartian friends over. You two should come, it would really mean a lot to us. Invite Hermione and Ginny for us too if you see them!" He chirped, his eagerness causing his husband to roll his eyes and make a face at him. Harry laughed at Dean's reaction while Ron just smirked, shaking his head at their antics.

"Well…I don't know…I _do _kind of have a lot of work to do this weekend—" Ron was cut off abruptly when Seamus spoke again, turning to Ron and giving him a conspiratorial grin and wink.

"The party has an open bar. Free drinks all night, Ron." He offered and he didn't have to wait long before Ron instantly grinned back and shrugged, the reluctance on his face disappearing at once.

"Ah, what the hell…Too much work is a bad thing. Right, Harry?" He nudged Jaimee beside him, causing the Malfoy Mistress to roll her eyes but otherwise chuckle at his reaction. "I should have known it'd be easy to bribe you with free drinks, Ron. You tosser." She stuck her tongue out at him, pointedly choosing to ignore the way Seamus and Dean were laughing at Ron's reaction.

Dean turned to her after this, giving her an imploring grin. "Will you come too, Harry? Drag your husband along. You too Ron, bring Lorraine. I'm sure having any Malfoys at your promotional parties is sure to attract more media attention and bring good reviews." He winked at them but before either had a chance to react; Seamus butted in again and gave Harry a meaningful wink.

"Yeah! _Definitely_ bring Draco, Harry! I have a lot of gay friends coming over who'd love to—"

"_Don't _even think about it, Seamus. I'll castrate you." Harry warned dangerously, ignoring the snort of laughter that erupted from Ron beside her. Dean just rolled his eyes nudged his husband sharply to keep quiet, causing Seamus to pout to himself and feign a disappointed look.

"You're no fun, Harry."

Rolling their eyes, the other three ignored him and turned to talk to each other again. Dean gave them both another encouraging smile and raised a glass of tequila to his lips. "I haven't talked to Neville at all recently either but if either of you two see him, will you please invite him to tomorrow night's party too? I'd love to see him and Luna again." He added but the minute the words had left his lips, Harry and Ron's smiles disappeared and they exchanged grim expressions.

The other two former Gryffindors sensed this immediately and frowned, their eyebrows creasing together in alarm. "What? What's wrong?" Seamus asked suspiciously, training his eyes on Harry's dark expression as he waited for her to answer him. Harry met Ron's eyes again before she sighed and turned back to meet Seamus and Dean's worried faces, biting her lip in hesitation.

"Guys…Neville won't be able to come tomorrow. Nor will Luna, I think." At Dean's confused expression, she forced herself to continue. "Actually…Since you two were gone for a pretty long time in the Wizarding World, there's a _lot _that's been going on that you two should know." Both men nodded patiently for her to continue, their attention focused intently on her serious expression.

After a moment's pause, she took a deep breath and began to explain to them everything that had happened so far – including the magical plague's latest pureblooded victims and the families that have been affected with the disease. For several minutes, Seamus just blinked repeatedly in shock while Dean stared, unable to believe the news he had just heard about Neville's condition.

When Harry finished and they snapped out of their shock, it was Seamus who spoke first and he directed his question to Ron this time. "So how is he…? Neville, I mean…We would have gone to visit him sooner in St. Mungo's had we heard about it. Is Luna alright?" He asked worriedly but Ron sighed and shook his head, trying to drown out his frustration with another sip of his firewhiskey.

"He just went into comatose this afternoon. From what Hermione just told me, Luna's been a complete wreck. I can't really blame her. Her father has been taking care of Daniel while she stays in the hospital to take care of Neville…Basically; all pureblooded families now are taking precautions against the disease." He told them, bringing an even darker aura of anxiety over their table.

The four former Gryffindors all fell into an uneasy silence after that – all of which drinking from their drinks to keep themselves from having to say anything else. After another long moment of avoiding each other's eyes, Harry finally couldn't take it anymore and looked up at Seamus across the table, trying to alleviate the growing tension by offering the Irish man a weak smile.

"So…Seamus….Now that we're updated with Dean's new business venture, what have _you _been doing these last few years?" She asked in a forced cheerful tone and though her friends saw through her ploy, Seamus responded anyway – eager for an opportunity to talk about something else.

He grinned widely at her and winked, chuckling to himself when he noticed Dean rolling his eyes again in anticipation beside him. "Funny you should ask, Harry…Have you by any chance noticed the newly bought shop next door? It has an adjoining entrance from the side of this bar." He told her but Ron and Harry just stared back blankly at him in confusion, shrugging in indifference.

"Yeah…So? What about it? I heard the old boutique beside this place shut down and they're building some new establishment." Ron supplied for him and at his words, Seamus feigned a dramatic sigh and shook his head at his ignorance. Harry just looked curiously at him, waiting for him to explain.

With a mischievous grin, Seamus slammed both his palms down onto the table and exclaimed.

"That store's mine, you guys! I just bought the place last week! I'm putting up a new shop there within the next couple of days. It's for the new line of wizard/witch designer clothing I've been working on. Really A-class, stylishly designed material for people who want to look snazzier and sharp." He winked at them after he said all this but at this point, Harry and Ron just turned to look at each other and pointedly rolled their eyes in a mixture of exasperation and helpless amusement.

Ron shook his head and turned to look back at Seamus, meeting Dean's smirk of agreement across the table. Harry turned back to Seamus and rewarded him with a teasing smile.

"_GAY, _Seamus…That is just so…_so…GAY."_

Ron and Dean let out a round of laughter when Seamus just stuck his tongue at her in response – to which Harry was only happy to oblige by sticking hers out in retaliation. Seamus pretended to give her a flirtatious smile as she did this, winking suggestively at her shocked reaction.

"Don't stick that out at me unless you plan to use it, Harry."

Only Ron sniggered this time while Dean just scowled and elbowed Seamus sharply in the ribs, causing his Irish husband to laugh at his reaction _AND _the horrified expression on Harry's face at his quip. The Malfoy Mistress glared at him, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head at his antics.

"You're still a perverted prick aren't you, Seamus?" She drawled with a resigned sigh and at this, Dean chuckled and answered her with an equally resigned shake of his head. "You have _NO_ idea, Harry." He kidded and this time, _HE_ was the recipient of a sharp nudge from his irked husband.

Ron rolled his eyes and turned back to Dean, giving him a grin and a nod.

"In any case…I suppose I may be able to drop by tomorrow just for a short while. Lorraine doesn't really like staying out too late these days because she's always worried about Chessie." He paused and turned to Seamus, his eyebrows fusing together in thought. "In fact… I suggest you show some of that new clothing line of yours to Lorraine, Seamus…That infuriating woman can _shop _like there's no bloody tomorrow." He grumbled, causing all three of his friends to laugh again.

Dean nodded at him before turning to Harry and raising an eyebrow in query but she just fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat and flicked her gaze over to her wristwatch to check the date. "What about you, Harry? Will you and Malfoy be able to make it? It would really mean a lot to us if you could go." Dean pretended to pout at her, causing her to roll her eyes and sigh in defeat.

"I suppose so…But only for a short while too, Dean. Draco doesn't really like leaving the twins with their nanny for too long. Quite frankly, he doesn't trust anyone with them. Not even _me._" She explained and upon hearing her words, Seamus and Dean's eyebrows both shot up in surprise. They blinked and turned to give her a surprised look, their eyes flicking to her flat stomach in wonder.

"Oh yeah…I forgot that you two have children now. Good Merlin, kind of makes me want to have kids of my own…What do you say, darling?" Seamus winked suggestively at his husband again but Dean just stared back pointedly at him, raising an eyebrow in obvious sarcastic disinterest.

"And just _how _in Merlin's name do you propose we do _THAT_, Seamus Finnegan? Some magical form of conception? Or perhaps you're willing to take in a _Cirisserum _potion like Harry did here and permanently be the woman in this relationship like you are already?" He deadpanned, causing Harry and Ron to laugh again when Seamus just pouted and shook his head indignantly at him in refusal.

"No way! I _like _being a bisexual man. It's so much more fun."

The other three ignored his antics and pointedly turned back to talk to each other instead. Ron was just about to ask Dean another question about his new restaurant when out of nowhere, Harry's muggle cellular phone suddenly began beeping incessantly from her robe pockets – momentarily distracting their attention and causing all three of her friends to turn to her in surprise.

Harry cringed and gave them a sheepish smile, holding up a finger to excuse herself from them. She shot up from her seat and hastily settled herself into the far corner of the restaurant for some privacy. Snatching her phone out of her pocket, it took her a single glance at the screen to realize who was calling before she sighed again and flicked the phone on, holding it up to her ear.

"Nicholas…What do you want now? I already told Ashford that I'd be back in the office in an hour or so. If this isn't really that important, can you wait until I get back—" She stopped when she heard his panicked voice ranting on the other line, obviously indicating that something had happened.

Holding her hand briefly over the mouthpiece, she looked up once to make sure Ron, Dean and Seamus were still locked intently in their light conversation across the restaurant before she spoke up again, her voice turning grim and the irritation in her eyes giving way to suspicion.

"Nicholas…What's wrong?! What's happened? Slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying. What? Yes, I know Ashford's in St. Mungo's, he's conducting all his investigations there! What do you mean Byron is there with him? Wasn't Byron supposed to be conducting his own separate investigation in Italy today? What?! No—wait! _Slow down, Ambleton! I can't understand you, damn it!"_

Harry growled, ignoring the curious stares she was receiving from some of the other customers in the restaurants when they heard the anger and impatience in her voice. Holding the phone tighter against her ear, she bent her head down lower and covered her other ear with her free hand, straining to hear Nicholas' rushed words over the lively music.

"_What?! _I'll be back in an hour! Why do I have to go to St. Mungo's now? Huh? Just tell me! What the bloody hell is happening—"

Harry froze and paled in shock upon hearing Nicholas' next words, suddenly understanding exactly _what _had sent the other Unspeakable into such a state of open panic like that.

Painfully swallowing the forming lump in her throat, Harry felt all the blood draining out of her face as she took a deep shaky breath and leaned back against the wall behind her – her fingers gripping her cellphone so tightly that she felt the beginnings of sweat rising up from her palms.

"O—oh…I—I…I see…Since when? When did it happen?" She paused and waited for Nicholas to answer her, nodding more to herself than him in understanding even though she knew Nicholas couldn't see her. "J—just tonight…? A—an hour ago…? O—okay…I u—understand…I—I know…I'll get over there right away. O—okay…I—I'll meet you there in ten minutes. V—very well. Thank you."

Her hands were still shaking as she pulled the receiver away from her ear and flicked her phone back off, shoving it weakly back into her robe pockets. Her face noticeably paler than awhile ago and her heart pounding rapidly in her chest in a mixture of growing fear and anxiety, she forced her way back over to where her friends were seated and stood over the table in uneasy silence.

It took the other former Gryffindors several more seconds to acknowledge her presence. Once they saw her, they immediately noticed the sudden ashen color of her cheeks and the way her eyes were dazed as though in shock. Ron stood up hastily in suspicion, his eyes clouding over in concern.

"Harry…Mate, what's wrong? You don't look so good… You look like you've seen a ghost." He spoke worriedly, reaching over and handing her a glass of water. Dean and Seamus also stood up and flicked worried gazes over to her, their eyebrows fusing together when they saw her facial expression.

"Who was on the phone…?" When she didn't answer him again, Ron forced himself to speak louder – finally snapping Harry out of her self-induced stupor and causing her to blink and stare at him as though he was a complete stranger. "Harry…? I asked….Who was on the phone? Everything okay?"

Finally – after what seemed like several minutes of her gaping and staring at them in stupefied silence – Harry somehow found the strength to speak, her voice coming out in dry, raspy whisper.

"G—Guys…I'm really sorry…But I have to go…" They all made a move to protest when she said this but Harry shook her head firmly at them, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Th—that was our Head Officer, Nicholas Ambleton on the phone…H—he…I—I never would have believed it but he said—"

Ron simply stared tensely at her, waiting for her to continue while Dean and Seamus exchanged confused looks, obviously not understanding clearly what she was trying to say. Harry went on anyway, her eyes suddenly glazing over as she tried to make herself believe her own words.

"—H—he said…Ashford was taken into St. Mungo's ten minutes ago. He…Caught the disease."

* * *

"What the bloody hell are _YOU _doing here?!"

In spite of himself, Byron couldn't prevent the mocking tone of his voice as he rushed into Vincent's hospital room that same night– stopping in shock just by the entrance and staring spitefully into the handsome, sneering face of Severus Snape. The Potions Master had looked up from the potion vials he held in his hand and answered Byron's rude greeting with a raised eyebrow.

"That is hardly a proper greeting from a wizard of your stature, Byron…I believe I have just as much a right to be here as you do. Vincent happens to be a good friend of mine." He drawled calmly, smirking as he set the vials he held back down and sat down on the chair to the right of Vincent's bed.

Byron sneered at the other man's words but didn't bother saying anything else, walking stiffly over to the chair on Vincent's opposite side and carefully seating himself in tense silence. He ignored Severus' presence altogether and turned to face Vincent's unconscious form instead, instantly feeling all the blood draining out of his cheeks when he was met with the Head Unspeakable's unmoving form.

Vincent's tanned handsome face had turned completely pale from apparent loss of blood and his normally perfectly styled black hair now lay disheveled over his forehead – limp back strands falling into his closed eyes and over his slightly furrowed eyebrows. His lean frame looked somewhat weak and frail along the large hospital bed he was laid out on and though several sheets of white blankets had been pulled tightly over his form, his entire body still shook occasionally with shivers.

A large glass bottle of what appeared to be clear blue potion floated several feet above his unconscious form and from this, Byron could make out what looked like a very thin plastic tube attached to it – one end of which was connected to the floating blue potion bottle and the other end inserted into the vein just several inches below Vincent's left wrist.

It was this device that Severus was currently very much preoccupied with and in spite of his hatred for the man, Byron's curiosity got the better of him and he spoke up again, drawing Severus attention back to his confused expression. "What are you doing? What is that thing that you're attaching to him?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing at the other man in question.

Severus raised an eyebrow at him again and answered him with a small smirk, shaking his head at the younger man's ignorance. Gesturing to the floating blue potion bottle hovering above Vincent's form, he paused and gave Byron a pointed look. "That blue potion you see right there…? I'm afraid that's the only thing right now that's keeping Vincent alive lest this disease drain his blood of all magic completely." Byron looked worried at this but Severus continued, ignoring his reaction.

"You see…It's _MY _responsibility in this hospital right now to keep making as much of this vitality potion as possible so that none of the confined purebloods in here die of magical drainage. As you can see…Since Vincent seemed to have gone into comatose immediately, I'm trying to make some more vitality potion right now to keep him alive. Still want me to leave, Byron?" He looked up and sneered when he saw the humiliated expression on Byron's face, obviously enjoying his discomfort.

When the younger man couldn't seem to find anything else to say in response to this, Severus chuckled again and turned back to the supply of ingredients he had placed on the table beside Vincent's bed – expertly bustling over several more vials and ignoring Byron's presence altogether.

After several more minutes of watching him do this, Byron finally cleared his throat and spoke up again – his voice coming out hoarse and gruff. "How long have you been staying here and doing this? Have any of the victims died so far…?" He asked stiffly, watching as Severus answered him by shaking his head, his attention still clearly focused on the potion he was trying to make.

"None as of the moment…But then again, I won't be able to brew these potions forever to keep them all alive. Pretty soon, this disease will grow at such an alarming rate that I won't be able to keep up with it. A suitable cure must be found…And fast." He answered calmly and just as he finished speaking, he had also finished a fresh batch of potion – holding the new batch of clear blue liquid in his hand and pouring it into the half-empty container floating above Vincent's form.

The minute he had done this, he finally looked up and addressed Byron one last time with a final smirk and nod, gathering his potion materials carefully from the desk. He didn't say anything as he stood up and began to walk out the door, stopping only just near the exit when Byron addressed him again. The metamorphagus' words were laced with a hint of mockery and accusatory anger.

"You hardly have _ANY _right to act all high and mighty with what you're doing right now for him, Snape. Since it was pretty much _YOUR _fault that Vincent probably got into such a mess in the first place." He snapped back pointedly and he didn't have to wait long before Severus turned around and glared at him, his eyes narrowing and confusion etched clearly onto his sharp features.

"Excuse me…? My fault?!"

Byron felt a surge of anger rising from the pit of his stomach. "You _HEARD _me. This is all probably _YOUR _fault, Severus. As if you didn't know…Vincent hasn't been the same person since the day he got out of that bad relationship with you. You're nothing but a heartless, selfish bastard." He hissed spitefully, his brown eyes suddenly morphing into an eerie red from his growing anger.

Severus, however, didn't look amused by his words and merely scoffed at him, shaking his head at the younger man's words. "_MY _fault? I'm afraid you need to get your facts right, Mister Malfoy…It seems you don't even know what you're accusing me of." He retorted easily, watching in growing confusion as Byron's eyes flashed again and he had to fight to keep himself from shouting.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"I really _DON'T_, Byron…What do you mean?" Severus answered back bluntly, obviously getting bored with the conversation altogether. His voice was beginning to drip with disdain and growing dissatisfaction and he raised an eyebrow again. He was just about to turn around when Byron spoke up again, this time his voice raising several levels in barely restrained anger and frustration.

"Just get out of here, Snape! You dumped Vincent 2 years ago like some kind of used toy. You've finished that stupid potion; you have no more business being here. Just leave!" He snapped coldly. To his utter surprise, instead of shouting right back at him as Byron expected him to do, Severus just laughed again and looked at him as though he was the dumbest person alive.

"Do you even know what you're talking about, Byron? You have no idea what you're saying…I never broke up with Vincent those two years ago. That stupid bastard broke up with _ME._"

"…_What?!"_

Byron blinked and stared intently at him in confusion for several minutes, obviously unable to process the words he had just heard. Severus just stared right back him with a smirk on his face, his dark black eyes gleaming in amusement when he saw the genuine surprise in Byron's brown orbs.

Chuckling underneath his breath, Severus gathered the last of his potion ingredients into his hands from the nearby bed table, pausing carefully to replace the lid over one of his potion bottles. As soon as he had done this, he glanced back up and rewarded Byron with an amused, roguish grin.

"_HE _broke up with _ME, _Byron…Or were you not aware of this piece of information before you started accusing me like this?" He drawled, noting the way Byron's cheeks were beginning to color in humiliation. The younger man continued to stare at him, his jaw opening and closing like a gaping fish.

"I—I don't believe you…Why would he—"

Severus interrupted him again, shrugging himself back into his cloak as he spoke. "I told him that I'd be okay with a serious relationship…He broke it off with me. It's as simple as that."

Byron scoffed again and managed to blink himself out of his shock. "That's _RUBBISH! _I overheard you two! _HE _was the one who wanted a serious relationship but _YOU _were the one sleeping around behind his back. Who are you trying to fool?!" He hissed, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

Severus didn't answer him and began to walk out of the room – his arms laden with his potion bottles and ingredients. Just as he was reaching for the door, Byron addressed him one last time.

"Ashford said—"

Severus whirled around and practically snarled at the younger man in exasperation.

"What Vincent Ashford _SAYS _and what Vincent Ashford _DOES_ are two very different things, Byron! He kept saying he wanted a serious relationship?! Well he was never _AROUND _to pursue it! He ran like hell when I suggested that we get more serious! It was pitiful really." He scoffed and shook his head in disgust, his coal-like eyes gleaming in obvious disdain.

Byron opened his mouth to say something again but Severus just gave him one last, condescending sneer. "He's a selfish bastard, Mister Malfoy…And that is saying something coming from _ME. _You'd do so much better off with someone else your own age. Believe me." Before the young Malfoy son could attempt to defend himself, Severus had turned around again and stalked out of the room – slamming the doors noisily behind him and leaving Byron alone to his own musings.

For a long time, Byron sat there and stared after the closed door in perplexed silence – his eyebrows fused together in thought and his facial expression darkened in contempt. He turned his head and stared intently into Vincent's pale, handsome face beside him – studying the older man's features in close scrutiny as he tried to ponder on the meaning behind Snape's words

This was the grim expression on his young face when the doors to the private hospital room opened again about fifteen minutes later. Byron looked up in surprise, blinking at the sight of a cloaked, dark-haired elderly wizard entering the room, a silver cane clasped tightly in his left hand.

He didn't seem to notice Byron's presence with him as he walked in, settling himself uneasily onto the seat beside Vincent's bed. Upon closer inspection of his face, Byron noticed that the man's face held a rather uncanny resemblance to Vincent's own handsome features – from the finely chiseled jaw and eyebrows, all the way to his aristocratic cheekbones and bright blue eyes.

_The man looks like Vincent…I wonder if he's Vincent's father._

The man noticed his staring and snapped his attention to him, his cold blue eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion. When Byron wasn't able to think of anything to say to him in greeting; the elderly man spoke up first – his voice coming out deep and very similar to Vincent's own drawling tone.

"If I may ask…Are you…Are you Vincent's…_lover…?_"

In spite of himself, the corner of Byron's lips quirked upwards into a weak smirk as he answered – shrugging weakly to himself in helpless amusement.

"Well…Unfortunately… I hardly think I can call myself that yet, sir... I assume you're…Vincent's father?" He asked, watching carefully as the man nodded at him and managed a forced but cordial smile. "I am Jonathan Amos Ashford…Current Head of the Ashford family and father to Vincent. I expect you are…A Malfoy son?" He gestured briefly to the Malfoy insignia ring on Byron's left hand.

The metamorphagus blinked at the recognition in surprise before managing another weak laugh and nodding his assent. "My name is Byron. Third son of the Malfoy family. It's a pleasure to meet you sir." He drawled automatically in response and to this, Jonathan nodded stiffly – sparing a single glance at him before turning back to stare intently into his son's ashen, sickly figure on the bed.

Vincent hadn't moved a single inch since Byron had entered the hospital room but looked slightly better off from the potion Severus had given him, his face slowly regaining some of the color in his cheeks. Jonathan stared silently at him for several minutes, his blue eyes fixated on Vincent's younger face and watching the way his son's chest was rising weakly with each breath he took.

Neither Jonathan nor Byron did anything else within those next moments and just when it looked like Byron was going to try to say something else, Jonathan surprised him by suddenly rising up from his seat and turning to leave the room. At this, Byron's golden brown eyes instantly narrowed in anger and he felt his face heat up, a hiss of accusatory anger suddenly escaping his lips.

"That's _IT?! _Aren't you going to do anything? _SAY _anything? He's your _SON _and he almost died, damn it!" He snapped out loud, surprising the older man when he heard the scathing tone of his voice.

Jonathan turned and stared blankly at him for a long time, inspecting the look on his younger features with a hint of uncertainty in his. Byron opened his mouth to snap something out at him again but Jonathan beat him to it and shrugged, settling himself back down hesitantly into his seat.

"I haven't talked to my Vincent in _YEARS_…What am I _supposed_ to say to him now—"

"I don't know…_ANYTHING! _He's your _SON_, goddamn it! You're his _FATHER_! You're supposed to know the right thing to say or do! It's your responsibility!"

Jonathan smirked back calmly at him, arching an aristocratic eyebrow in amusement.

"Forgive me. I was never a man who was good at expressing his emotions."

Byron scoffed at his words and shook his head in resentment. "Evidently _not…_ I can't say I'm really all that surprised, Master Ashford…Your son isn't much for expressing his emotions either." He drawled back and at this, Jonathan finally managed a weak smile and nodded at him in agreement.

"So I've heard. Most people I know tell me that Vincent can pretty much be as stubborn as I am these days. Perhaps so more." He spoke softly, the smallest hint of fondness suddenly lighting up his cold blue eyes. Byron watched in surprise as Jonathan looked up and gave him another forced, small smile, his blue eyes flicking back over to rest on his son's unconscious form beside him.

"He was _always_ such a difficult child to understand you know…My Vincent… Even then…He was never good with showing his emotions to anybody." He continued, his eyes suddenly beginning to trail off in deep thought. "When he was only five years old…I bought him a puppy. A golden retriever…It meant the absolute world to him. I could tell. Even when he himself didn't seem to realize it." He chuckled under his breath, looking back up and meeting Byron's golden brown eyes across the room.

"That blasted dog followed him everywhere and trailed after him like a bloody shadow. Sometimes, even Vincent got annoyed with it and kicked it away when he was mad. It always came back to him though…I suppose that animal grew to love him anyway." He paused briefly at this and turned back to look at Vincent's face, reaching over and pulling the blankets up to his son's chin.

Byron watched this action in silence, unable to hide the softening of his eyes when he saw the genuine fatherly affection hidden in Jonathan's blue eyes. When the older man looked back up at him, the small smile on his face was gone and was replaced with another grim, emotionless expression.

"Then one day…The dog just…Disappeared. We weren't entirely sure of what happened to it…Whether it ran away or got hurt somewhere…I don't know. But Vincent was…He was devastated." He paused and quirked the corner of his lips into a wry smirk. "He spent about two weeks searching all over the neighborhood for that dog…He cried like a baby for about another week after that. He was about seven years old then." He finished, reaching a hand out again to stroke Vincent's forehead.

Byron continued to remain completely silent, unsure of what to say to him or if it was appropriate to say anything in the first place. Jonathan didn't seem to mind his silence and continued to speak anyway, his voice dropping into such a low whisper that Byron had to strain to hear him.

"He never showed it…Perhaps because he never realized it… But despite all those times he kicked and abused that poor animal, it meant the absolute world to him. Sometimes… When it comes to dealing with my son, the best way for him to learn the value of something is for him to realize the pain that comes when it's no longer there. Selfish as it may seem…That's just the way he's always been." Jonathan finished his sentence with an exhausted, heavy sigh and shook his head in defeat.

He didn't bother waiting for Byron to say anything and forced himself back onto his feet, setting his cane back down onto the floor. Just as he had nodded his farewell and was about to walk out the door, Byron finally looked back up at him and addressed him for the first time in a soft whisper.

"Master Ashford…Do you love your son…?"

The elderly man stopped immediately in his tracks and turned around to face him, his dark eyebrows suddenly coming together into an expression of belated surprise at the unexpected question. When he didn't seem capable of saying anything to him for the next few moments, Byron stood up and faced him directly; shoving his clammy hands into the pockets of his Unspeakable robes.

"Your son…Vincent…Do you love him…?"

Jonathan stared back blankly at him, his blue eyes frozen in an expression of uncertainty and deep regret. They stared at each other's face for a very long time – both men unwilling to move or do anything else for fear of the other's reaction. Finally, after a long, tense moment of awkward silence, Jonathan finally blinked and managed a throaty laugh, his voice coming out raspy as he answered.

"Would I have come here…If I didn't…?"

In spite of himself, Byron didn't say anything else after this and merely nodded in understanding, watching as Jonathan made to turn around again to exit the large room. Just as he had touched the doorknob, he paused briefly and turned around to give Byron one last look.

"I'll be back around the same time tomorrow…Should my son wake up when I'm not here…_IF _he ever wakes back up that is…" He voice shook at his last sentence but he didn't give Byron a chance to answer him and continued, meeting the younger man's expression with a grim, otherwise firm nod.

"Please tell him that…He's _welcome_ back home…And that any time he wants to come back… I'll be waiting for him. Also…Please let him know that he's _always _been welcome at home…No matter who he is or who he decides to be." He ended his sentence at these words and tightened his hand on his cane, turning around so Byron couldn't see the emotions written all over his elderly face.

Once again, all Byron could do was nod back silently and answer him in a firm voice.

"Understood…I—if I may ask…Master Ashford…What was the name of Vincent's dog? You know…The one that never came back home?" He voice shook slightly as he asked this but he easily held his emotions back from his face, looking away from the other man's intensely blue eyes.

Jonathan looked genuinely surprised when he had asked this, blinking several times as though trying to fully understand the implication of Byron's words. As soon as he did, however, he couldn't prevent a smirk from lighting up his face and nodded to the Malfoy son in unspoken understanding.

"Shadow…"

Jonathan gave him one last nod of farewell before he finally turned and exited the room, his light footsteps echoing softly along the corridors. Eventually, the hospital doors closed again – leaving Byron alone with his thoughts in the deafening, comforting silence of Vincent's private hospital room.

* * *

_"WILL YOU ALL JUST CALM DOWN, DAMN IT?!"_

Harry clenched her jaw in growing frustration as she eyed the frantic, worried gazes of all the Unspeakable Agents gathered around her – all of which were talking in rushed murmurs at the same time about Ashford's unexpected condition and asking her numerous questions about her next orders.

Around them, more and more Wizard Healers continued bustling back and forth from hospital room to hospital room in their haste to cater to all their patients. Richard Wickham was amongst them and had rushed into Vincent's room, currently tending carefully to the Head Unspeakable's condition.

As several more Unspeakable Agents apparated into the St. Mungo's lobby, Harry finally let out a breath of exhaustion and pinched the bridge of her nose – taking several steps backward and collapsing onto one of the nearby waiting chairs. As expected, the rest of the Unspeakables gathered around her again and Nicholas sat down beside her, holding up a number of folders to her face.

"Potter…The Minister will be arriving here shortly to speak with us about our next prerogatives. Also, the CISO department wants a full comprehensive report on what we've discovered so far about the plague. Kingsley will be arriving shortly with the Aurors too…" He told her and if anything, his words only caused Harry's head to hurt more as she nodded and buried her face into her hands.

"A—alright…Go talk to them…L—let me just think for a minute—"

Nicholas cut her off sharply and shook his head, giving her a pointed glare. "_YOU _have to be the one to talk to them, Harry. With Ashford in his current condition, the responsibility of leadership is temporarily displaced first to – if applicable – the present Head Unspeakable Trainee. You should know that by now, it's written in the code of guidelines." He told her sternly, causing her to groan loudly.

"What? But—"

Spencer suddenly spoke up, shoving his hands into his pockets and giving her a consoling smile. "He's right, Harry…With Ashford in his state right now, you have to assume temporary leadership of the department. We can't just continue on his last orders given the present state of things, we need a new plan of action and strategy regarding this whole matter." He explained and his words were met with several nods of agreement from the other Unspeakables around them.

Harry looked up at them with defeated, weary eyes – her gaze flicking from one expectant Unspeakable agent's face to another in growing desperation. When not one of them seemed to disagree with Nicholas and Spencer's words, she finally sighed and covered her face with her hands again – closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in an effort to calm herself.

When she looked back up, she managed to nod weakly and reached out for the thick, offered folder in Nicholas' hands. "V—very well…I will assume leadership _temporarily_ until Ashford is back up on his feet. But _please _keep in mind that I am not a fully trained Head Unspeakable yet and that I am completely unprepared for this responsibility so please bear with me and help me through this."

Not one of them seemed to hear her and began to speak out all at once after she had said this, their voices intermingling with one another into a loud garble that earned them several glares from the passing Healers walking around the hospital. Massaging her temples again, Harry held up a hand to silence their rambling. She waited until they stopped talking before she nodded again and pointed to the nearby female Unspeakable agent who was standing across from her.

"One at a time please…Tracey, go ahead. I want to hear what happened tonight. Where was Ashford and what exactly was he doing before he collapsed?"

The brunette Unspeakable she had addressed nodded at her before she answered.

"I spoke with the secretaries working up in the CISO department thirty minutes ago. They said that Ashford had spent a good deal of his time up in the archives and libraries since this morning. They weren't exactly sure of what he was looking for though...He looked rather serious." She explained and before Harry could ask anything else, the male Unspeakable beside her also spoke up.

"I saw him this morning too. He was going back and forth from his office to the CISO department and every now and then, he would mutter something under his breath as if in thought. Something about infusions." Harry nodded at him in gratitude and understanding after he said this.

Fusing her eyebrows together, she flicked open the folder Nicholas had handed to her and began to browse through Ashford's medical status reports. Spencer spoke up after about a couple of seconds, his voice breaking through Harry's musings and bringing her to look back up at him.

"Byron is inside the hospital room tending to Ashford right now…I suggest you ask _him _about Ashford's latest activities these days. He'd be the one most probably knowledgeable on that—" He stopped when Byron surprised them all by finally walking out of Ashford's private hospital room and into the hallway with a grim look on his face, stopping just right in front of Harry's seated form.

"Unfortunately, you won't get any useful information from me, Spencer…I wasn't anywhere _near _Vinc—_Ashford_ for the past few days." He let out a heavy sigh and collapsed down onto the seat right across Harry's, taking the folder from her hands and beginning to leaf through it himself.

Harry stared at him carefully, noting the weariness of his features and the dark circles that were beginning to form under his normally bright eyes. Byron looked positively _miserable _and _exhausted_. A part of her wanted to console him but she knew that it wouldn't be proper to do so given the situation and the fact that she knew that the Malfoys, if anything, were a very private family.

As though sensing her thoughts, Byron looked up and leveled her with a warning glare – keeping his expression carefully guarded before flicking his gaze back up to the other surrounding Unspeakables. "So…What have we got so far? Where are we headed now? Let's do this." He asked them nonchalantly, trying his best to keep his anxiety out of his voice.

Harry blinked herself out of her thoughts at his words and nodded, taking the folder from his hands again. She flicked her eyes back up to address everyone around her. "We need more information about the actual parameters of the disease itself. Ashford's medical records indicate that the disease spread physically throughout his body more rapidly than the other victims." She paused and finally set the folder back down onto the table in front of them with a hint of finality.

"That means more research, everyone. I'm personally organizing more high-level investigations within the next couple of days. I'll issue a notice to the Wizengamot for the proper authorization papers and warrants for all of you. I'll distribute you all around Europe—"

"That's _BOLLOCKS, _Harry. We'd only waste more time."

Harry's words froze midsentence and she looked up in shock at Byron's blunt response, blinking rapidly as she stared into his agitated features. Her cousin-in-law looked rather irritated with her instructions and had fused his eyebrows together in thought, a grim expression of speculation and growing suspicion resting on his handsome face.

"…_EXCUSE ME?!"_

Spencer, Nicholas, and the rest of the Unspeakable agents all shifted uncomfortably when they recognized the angry indignation in Harry's voice. They saw the growing tension between the two Malfoys and tried to look away instead. Byron also heard the insulted tone in Harry's voice at his rude comment and looked up, trying to quell her anger by offering her a half-hearted apologetic look.

"I apologize if I offended you but I was only stating the truth. Right now, wasting more time on investigating is probably the _WORST _course of action to take considering the state of things." He indicated to the families walking in and out of the lobby around them. "More and more victims of the disease are being taken in every night…We can't afford to go traipsing around Europe for clues any longer." He told her bluntly again, causing Harry's eyes to flash in growing anger at his behavior.

"Well _EXCUSE ME_ for forming the wrong course of action, Byron but in case you haven't noticed, we have absolutely no _BLOODY _idea what the hell we're dealing with here!" She snapped back, her voice raising several levels and causing more of the Unspeakables around them to cringe.

Byron sneered uncharacteristically at her, shaking his head at her ignorance. "You obviously have_ NO _skill whatsoever in observational powers do you, Harry? Did you not _SEE _what was written on Vincent's palm tonight?" Harry froze in surprised confusion at this but it was Nicholas who spoke up and he answered Byron's question with a brief nod of agreement.

"Well-noted, Malfoy…I was just thinking about that myself. 513." He reached a single hand over and wrote the three numbers on a large piece of paper in front them, holding it up for everybody else to see. "Those were the three numbers written on his palm when he collapsed and lost consciousness. I don't know if it's some kind of clue but it could mean something important."

All of the surrounding Unspeakable agents nodded again at this while Harry raised an eyebrow to herself in slight disbelief. "513? That could refer to _ANY _number, Nicholas! Besides, _WHY _would Vincent write something like that on his palm? I doubt it meant anything—" She was cut off when Byron spoke up again, looking up and allowing her to see the suspicious glint in his brown eyes.

"Perhaps he wrote it on his palm because he _KNEW _there was the _SLIGHTEST _possibility that he was going to be the next victim…" He drawled darkly and the minute the words had left his lips, all of the other agents suddenly stiffened and began to speak all at once amongst themselves in shock.

Harry also tensed at the implication of Byron's words and stared at him in speechless stupor. She waited a couple of minutes for everyone else to quiet down before she addressed Byron again, meeting his uneasy expression across the table with a similar one of her own.

"You think the magical plague is… _PERPETUATED?"_

Again, Byron stiffened and sneered at her words – scoffing loudly in growing frustration. Ignoring everyone else's stares, he shot up from his seat and slammed his fist against the table, growling out loud and running a hand through his disheveled mane of sleek, black hair.

"_LOOK! _None of you…_NONE OF YOU _seem to understand the gravity of the situation here!" He exploded loudly, causing both Harry and Spencer to flinch at the rare expression of anger on his face. Byron continued anyway, practically circling around the waiting lobby in his agitation.

"_VINCENT _is lying unconscious in _COMATOSE _in there—" His face darkened and he gesticulated madly to the nearby private room, raising his other hand and massaging his temples. "—and you all _STILL _think that this is just some disease that we can all 'investigate and take precaution for'!" He shook his head and sighed, collapsing back down onto his seat and helping himself to a glass of water.

After a long sip to clear his throat, he spoke again – his voice sounding much more controlled and authoritative. He turned his attention fully to Harry. "Harry…All the other victims up until _NOW _were conscious for _AT_ _LEAST 2 DAYS_ before they fell into comatose…But Vincent…He fell into it _RIGHT AWAY!_" He ignored the way Harry's eyes were growing wider at his words and continued.

"Obviously…_SOMEONE _doesn't want him spilling something…Which means he _KNEW _something already, Harry. He _discovered _something tonight that got him into trouble. It just doesn't make _SENSE _anymore to continue treating this bloody plague as some randomly transmitted disease! It's goddamn _perpetuated!"_ He told them, clenching his jaw tightly as he met all their shocked faces.

Spencer, Nicholas and all the other Unspeakables were blinking at him – their faces lighting up slowly in growing realization. To his frustration, however, Harry just glared right back at him, stubbornly shaking her head and gritting her teeth in an effort to control her patience. Setting a frown on her face, she took a deep breath and addressed him – keeping her voice calm and controlled.

"Byron…You're…Obviously speaking out of rogue emotions for Vincent at the moment. We all know that it's never a good thing for an Unspeakable agent to let his personal feelings affect his judgment about an assignment. Look…You know that we can't just follow all your assumptions without any further proof, we need to conduct _reliable STRUCTURED investigations _and follow procedure as usual—" She ignored Byron's attempt to speak again and turned her attention firmly to Nicholas.

"Nicholas…I want you to inform the Healers right away that we're going to be needing blood samples from all the victims of the disease so far. After which, I want you to take it to the Ministry and have it investigated for any strange symptoms." She ordered briskly and at once, Nicholas nodded in affirmation and set off immediately – eager to get away from the awkward conversation.

Byron continued to glare at Harry and looked as though he was going to say something again but Harry went on anyway, turning her attention to Spencer next. "Spencer…I need you to stay here and help out Snape with dealing all the sustenance potions to the victims. If possible, I want you to work with him on a possible potion that may be able to regenerate the victims…If so, we may be able to talk to them – specifically Vincent." She watched as Spencer nodded to her in agreement.

"I'm on it, Harry." He replied and with that, he spun around and darted towards the emergency rooms to look for the mentioned Hogwarts Potion's Master. After he had gone, Harry finally turned and addressed Byron again, narrowing her eyes at him and giving him a pointed glare.

"Byron…As for you, I need you to travel to America and Asia and gather the most acclaimed Healers you can find from their hospitals. I need for you to bring them here and have them help out in determining any possible cures for this disease…Perhaps we can prevent more victims if we—"

"_NO…_Harry." Byron cut her off sharply again in a flat, deadpan tone of voice, much to her ire and the remaining Unspeakables' surprise at his blatant disregard for authority. Unfortunately, Harry seemed to have realized the same thing and snarled at him, her face flushing dark red with anger.

"Byron, you may be family but that was a direct order from your acting superior! I need your help, don't make this any more difficult than it already is! I need you to—"

"I am _TELLING _you! This magical disease…is _PERPETUATED._ I _KNOW _it is! I can _FEEL _it and I _KNOW _Vincent came upon the same conclusion tonight. I just need some time to go to the CISO archives! Please let me off on my own! If you'll let me, I think I may be able to solve this tonight—"

Harry snapped impatiently at him again, shaking her head at his stubbornness. "Byron, I already _GAVE _you my orders! With Ashford out, it is _MY _responsibility to keep to trained procedure—"

Byron surprised all of the Unspeakables by cutting off the rest of Harry's words and slamming his fist into the table again, unwittingly causing the glass of water on it to tip over and shatter noisily onto the floor. Harry stopped immediately, her mouth snapping shut with affronted indignation.

"Screw procedure, Harry! Damn you and all that goddamn 'structured' training Vincent rammed into your head! You're really _EXCELLENT_ at it at this point, you know. You sound _JUST LIKE HIM, _do you know that? In fact, you're becoming more and more like him each day! Are you proud of yourself?" He mocked sarcastically, unable to stop himself despite the stung expression on her face.

"Are you purposely trying to turn yourself into Vincent, Harry? A self-obsessed, conceited, workaholic bastard who has _NOTHING_ going for him but his work and in the end, is _ALL ALONE_ because he's so goddamn proud of himself? Is _THAT _who you're trying to emulate, Harry?! Huh?!" He saw the crestfallen expression on Harry's face but he was way past self-control at this point.

"Goddamn it, Harry! You _KNOW _I'm onto something here and the only reason you're refusing to acknowledge it is because you want things done _YOUR _way! _YOU'RE_ _JUST LIKE VINCENT!_ Get over yourself!" Before Harry or any of the other Unspeakables could say anything else, Byron had already spun around and was storming out of the lobby towards the apparition area – all the while ignoring the stares he knew he was receiving from the surrounding people who had witnessed his outburst.

Harry didn't know how long she had been staring stupidly into the direction Byron had run towards, her face frozen in an expression of stunned disbelief. She stood there blinking and trying to process Byron's angry words when she felt a light hand on her shoulder, causing her to stiffen and bolt up from her seat. Whirling around, the female Unspeakable agent beside her directed her attention carefully to the approaching figure of the Minister of Magic – who at that moment was headed toward them with an expression of panic etched clearly onto his elderly features.

"What is the meaning of this? Who's in charge of this department now that Ashford's collapsed? _WHO?_!" The surrounding Unspeakable agents all winced at the sound of Cornelius Fudge's angry voice and pointed instantly to Harry, causing her to pale and take a meek step forward.

"That would be _me_, Minister Fudge… I'm the current Head-in-Training and I'll be handling the remainder of the Unspeakable assignments until Ashford recovers—" She never got to finish her sentence as Cornelius Fudge practically rounded on her, his beady eyes flashing in accusatory anger.

"Well then could you kindly _TELL ME _what the bloody hell is going on here?! I have reports from all over the country saying that more and more wizards are collapsing due to this disease! _MY OWN SON _has just collapsed this morning and has been admitted into the emergency room! I need answers Potter and I need you to give them to me _NOW!_" He exploded at her, ignoring the crowd of bustling assistants and lower-ranking Ministry officials swarming hurriedly around him.

Harry winced again at the angry note of his voice and nodded frantically, trying to process his words while at the same time signing the dozens of incoming authorization papers and documents the other Unspeakable agents were shoving into her face. She tried to ignore the fact that her vision was beginning to spin from all the added pressure around her and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Minister, I understand your concern regarding your son but I'm afraid we're going to need more time to get to the bottom of the matter! I'm not a fully trained Head Unspeakable Agent yet so—"

"I don't need your excuses, Potter! I don't have time for them! I want you to find the cure for this damn disease right _NOW_! I mean it!" Fudge barked again and this time – before Harry could answer him – he knocked the folders out of her hands and shoved past her towards the exit, his entire staff of officials and assistants trailing hurriedly behind him through the long, narrow corridor.

As Fudge left, Harry held back a scream of frustration and crouched back down onto the floor to gather the folders Fudge had knocked out of her hands – all the while blinking rapidly as she tried to drown out all the simultaneous voices of the other Unspeakable agents speaking to her all at once.

"Jaimee, about tomorrow's assignments…Will we push through with our search and capture operation in Russia or shall we postpone it for this matter?"

"Jaimee, I need your approval regarding this case! Ashford was supposed to brief me about it tonight but since he's out, I'm going to need your signature before anything else—"

"Potter, the CISO department wants you to report to their office tomorrow morning to coordinate our plan of action regarding the plague. Shall I confirm the appointment?"

"Harry, there's been news of suspicious magical activity sighted in Egypt last night—"

"……………_ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Harry could no longer hear nor process anything that was happening around her.

Clenching her eyes shut, she felt the entire room spinning around her as she clamped her hands over ears, cursing loudly and trying to block out all the voices echoing in her head. Ignoring the concerned looks of her fellow Unspeakable agents circled around her; she finally snapped altogether and let out an angry scream of frustration, hurling the folders in her arms back to the floor.

"All of you…Just…Just…Goddamn it! Just – _SHUT THE FUCK UP!"_

The Unspeakable agents gathered all around her instantly froze at her words and fell into a stunned silence, their shocked expressions turning to meet her blazing green eyes. Harry glared right back at them with a hideous snarl on her face,her shoulders heaving heavily in exhaustion. To her left, one of the older, female Unspeakable agents dared to speak up – leveling her with a concerned look.

"Jaimee…? Are you alright? It's already 9PM…Perhaps you should go home and get some rest for now. You look tired." She offered the younger woman a kind smile but the minute her words had reached Harry's ears, the former Gryffindor tensed up again, her face suddenly paling in realization.

Gulping and flicking her wide green eyes back up at the older woman in front of her; she tried to ignore the sick, nauseating feeling crawling up in the pit of her stomach and managed to speak – her voice coming out in a weak, shaky whisper that betrayed the painful pounding of her heart.

"I—I'm sorry, Valerie…C—could you repeat that? I—it's 9PM already…? M—may I ask what day it is today? Friday…?" She stammered helplessly, her voice growing raspier with each shaky breath she took. The young male Unspeakable agent standing beside Valerie shot her a curious look but obliged, glancing down briefly at his wristwatch before looking back up to answer her question.

"It's…April 7th. Yes, it's Friday…Why? Is something wrong—"

"_FUCK! DAMN IT! GODDAMN IT!"_

Harry didn't bother explaining herself any longer to the stunned Agents around her.

She whirled around and ran as fast as she could towards the hospital apparition exits. She ignored the shouts directed at her from behind and tore desperately through the crowded hallway, her eyes blurring rapidly with each step she took as she felt a familiar pang tightening in her chest.

* * *

_She forgot…I can't believe it…She forgot…_ Draco didn't even know how long he had been staring blankly at the small, beautifully-wrapped package in his hands when he heard the waiter speaking up from behind him, the familiar voice drawing the former Slytherin out of his thoughts.

"Master Malfoy…Shall I be taking your order now, sir? Will you wife be arriving shortly?"

Draco didn't even bother hiding the look of resentment on his face this time as he looked up and met the young waiter's polite expression with an angry sneer, his silver eyes narrowing scathingly in contempt. "She was supposed to have gotten here an _HOUR _ago…What do _YOU _think?!" He drawled in a low, mocking tone of voice, the spite in his voice causing the waiter to color in embarrassment.

"I—I meant no disrespect, sir…I was simply—"

"Get lost and get out of my sight…"

His spoken order had surprisingly come out sounding weak and exhausted but Draco couldn't bring himself to care at this point. He merely buried his face into his hands again, sighing in defeat and shoving the small wrapped package he held in his hands back into the inside pocket of his coat.

It was more than a quarter past nine at this point but for the life of him; he didn't even bother trying to debate with himself anymore whether or not Harry had forgotten about their plans for that evening. She was supposed to have arrived more than an _HOUR _ago and for each minute of that hour; Draco felt more and more like a hapless idiot – sitting there right in the middle of the most expensive restaurant in Wizarding London and drowning himself in wine as he waited for his elusive wife.

He had never felt more hurt, disappointed and humiliated all at once in his entire life.

Shaking his head to himself with a hint of disgusted finality, Draco let out a harsh, self-mocking sneer and slammed his empty glass of wine back down onto table. He rose up sharply from his seat, ignoring the stares he knew he was receiving from the other customers around him.

_I can only wait for so long, Harry._

He couldn't bring himself to say anything else as he hastily signed the bill presented to him by one of the nearby waiters, snatched his wand and coat back up from the table and slowly forced himself to walk out of the restaurant. Sensing the pouring rain outside, he slipped himself back into his black coat and began to walk out the exit doors, shoving his hands into his coat pockets.

It wasn't until he had managed to walk out onto the dimly lit night streets of Wizarding London just outside the restaurant that he finally caught sight of Jaimee's distant figure a couple of meters away from him on the other end of the street. Her pale cheeks were flushed with exertion and her Unspeakable robes were drenched from the pouring rain outside but she was running desperately towards him, pushing past several other passing witches and wizards along the crowded streets.

She finally reached him after a couple of seconds and practically collapsed in front of him, her shoulders heaving with shaky, exhausted breaths. Forcing herself to stand back up, she didn't say anything and just looked up into his disappointed gray orbs, her own eyes dimming in realization.

"Draco…I…I—I'm so sorry—" Her voice broke and she covered her mouth with her hands to hide the trembling of her lips, flicking her eyes back up and looking imploringly into his face again.

Draco just stared back blankly at her, the expression on his handsome face showing nothing more than weariness and defeat. He was completely drained of all anger at this point and couldn't find the energy to do anything else except stare at her, his gray eyes completely devoid of any emotions.

He remained completely silent and studied her carefully, watching as her beautiful green orbs began to glisten with unshed tears and her face began to crumple with each passing second that no words were exchanged between them. Then, as though unable to endure his stoic, unreadable reaction any longer, Harry spoke first – breaking the silence with a soft, broken whisper.

"Draco…Please…Say something…_Anything…_Please…"

Somehow, her words seemed to have broken through the mental barrier Draco had set up around himself. He finally blinked, momentarily tearing his intense gaze away from her to reach for something in the pocket of his coat. When he glanced back up to meet her face, he reached out and offered her a small, elegantly wrapped package – waiting patiently until she took it from his palm.

Once she had done this, he shoved his hands back into his coat pockets and turned around – pausing for just the briefest second to look over his shoulder and address her coldly for the first time.

"……Happy Anniversary."

He never saw the heartbroken expression of stunned realization on his wife's face as he turned back around and stalked off towards the pouring rain. Unable to do anything else, Harry stared helplessly after his retreating back, the tears streaming down her cheeks intermingling with the heavy droplets of rain that continued to pour down onto her exhausted, trembling form.

* * *

_Oh god…I forgot…I forgot our anniversary…How could I forget…? How…How…How…HOW?!_

Harry voiced the question over and over again in her head – her heart pounding rapidly in time with each silent enunciation of 'how' but even after mulling over it for the last five minutes, she couldn't bring herself to figure out the answer. Her knees had given out long ago and she had collapsed weakly onto her knees by the sidewalk just outside the restaurant but she didn't care – her attention focused on nothing else except the beautiful package resting on the palm of her hand.

She knew Draco had long apparated and that she had been sitting there out on the London streets for more than half an hour since then – practically freezing herself to death in the pouring rain. A good couple of passing witches and wizards had already offered to help her back up in concern but she had remained completely deaf to their calls, her eyes fixated intently on the gift on her palm.

A small slip of paper had been tucked carefully underneath the gift's elegant white ribbon and Harry's fingers shook as she slipped it out, her breath hitching painfully in her throat. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she unfolded it slowly and squinted to read through Draco's neatly written handwriting.

* * *

_Harry,_

_Despite all that's happened, I'll never regret getting on that rollercoaster with you back in Hogsmeade five years ago. You didn't know it back then…But it was the day I first realized I loved you._

_I know things may not look so good for us right now…But the ride's just beginning and we have so much more to look forward to. I wouldn't share the ride with anyone else except you. So as impatient a man I am, I'll wait until we're back up there…Ready to let go and take the plunge again. _

_I love you. Happy Anniversary. _

_Draco_

_

* * *

_

She nearly dropped the small opened box in shock the minute she saw what was inside.

Nestled in the box's soft, velvet interior lay an exquisite and specially crafted silver necklace – its material shimmering brightly in the darkness of her surroundings. The charm attached to the silver chain was made from pure _diamond_ and had been carved perfectly into the form of a small _rollercoaster_ – the shape of which resembled exactly the rollercoaster they had ridden 5 years ago.

_Oh god…_

From that moment onwards, Harry had absolutely no idea how long she sat there for the remainder of the night – stunned, unblinking and staring blankly at the necklace hanging limply from her hand. Somewhere along the back of her mind, she could make out the faint ringing of what seemed to be her muggle cell phone from her robe pockets. It wasn't until the ringing had persisted for nearly fifteen minutes that she forced herself to answer it, holding it shakily against her ear.

"…Wh—what is it…?"

"_HARRY? IS THAT YOU?! HARRY?!" _

Under normal circumstances, Harry would have been able to recognize the tears and interlaced sobbing within Hermione's rushed voice but in her present state of mind, she was unable to say or do anything else in response except blink several times in meek, dispirited confusion.

"Wh—what is it, Hermione…? I—I'm sorry but I—I c—can't really t—talk right now—"

Hermione's broken, panicked voice cut off the rest of Harry's stammered response.

_"H—HARRY! Y—YOU'VE GOT TO COME QUICK! P—PLEASE! Y—YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME! I—IT'S HORRIBLE! PLEASE COME HERE FAST, PLEASE! I—I—"_

The obvious desperation in Hermione's voice finally managed to break through Harry's hazy state of mind and she suddenly sat up, her eyes immediately narrowing in suspicion and alertness.

"Hermione…What is it? What's wrong…? Tell me."

She heard her best friend's poorly muffled crying from the other line just before Hermione spoke up again, her voice cracking several times through her violent sobs.

"_I—IT'S BLAISE! H—HE…I—I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I W—WENT INTO HIS OFFICE T—TO CHECK ON HIM FIVE M—MINUTES AGO A—AND HE J—JUST—" _The other girl began to break down again but even before Hermione said it, Harry already knew what she was going to say next.

"_HE JUST WENT INTO SEIZURE! H—HE CAUGHT THE DISEASE, HARRY!"_

* * *

**A/N: **………Dare I say it? CLIFFHANGER! Wahaha! Like I always say, never write a story without one. Oh wow. I barely realized it but we're actually approaching the end of the story at this point. I'm estimating about 6-7 more chapters left…Give or take a few I suppose. Hehehe. How exciting! I _DID _tell you guys that this story wouldn't have as many chapters as TPG. :D

And yes, I give you all permission to hate Harry at this point. I know you're all wondering why she's messing up so badly in this story but I figured, since it was Draco who made all our heads boil in TPG, it's only fair that Harry experiences some of that reader antagonism in TPW. Am I right? :D

**Next Chapter: **Revelations about the Plague, The climax of the story (Don't want to give it away! :D)


	15. Gravity

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Sorry this update took awhile…I've been having a bit of a problem with writer's block lately. Sigh. Anyway… I know I said I'd update Phoenix Tears before I updated this but I couldn't help myself. This story is clamoring to be finished. I have a feeling you guys will kill me though. Oh well. T_T

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Gravity **

Nothing else was heard in the St. Mungo's hospital room that night except for the sound of Hermione's violent sobbing. The former Head Girl had been crying continuously into Harry's arms for the past hour since all of their other friends had arrived. They now sat silently around random areas of Blaise's hospital room and were watching him being tended to by Severus Snape.

Harry, Ron, Lorraine and Anton sat in a circle around Hermione somewhere near the front of the room while Draco, Pansy and the rest of Blaise's immediate friends and family were gathered around the other side near the corner. They whispered amongst themselves as they continued to watch Severus pouring more vitality potion into the flask floating above Blaise's form.

The handsome Zabini Head looked _nothing _like the last time Harry had seen him.

Blaise's skin had turned a deathly pale color and several bruises had begun to form around his body. His dark hair lay mused up on his head – some strands of which fell into his eyes. His body looked surprisingly frail and the former Slytherin looked as though he was having difficulty breathing as he tried to sleep, his chest rising unevenly with his ragged, shallow breaths.

The Italian Head had been conscious when Harry had arrived in the hospital room that night – followed shortly by Draco soon after. Neither Draco nor Harry addressed one another since they had gotten there, choosing instead to remain within separate areas of the room.

For the last half hour, Blaise had been doing nothing else but trying to whisper comforting words to his crying wife who was, unfortunately, not comforted by this at all. Instead, his weak efforts at attempting to smile and whisper to her had accomplished nothing but make Hermione cry even more. Eventually, Severus had intervened and had asked Hermione – as well as everyone else – to step out of the hospital room so he could properly spell Blaise unconscious to give him more potion.

By the time everyone had been allowed back into the room, Blaise had already fallen fast asleep. From that point onward, Harry had then been busy with trying to calm Hermione down while at the same time, trying to deal with the occasional Ministry officials or Unspeakable agents who would rush into the room to talk to her about the latest plague developments.

From the moment they had arrived in St. Mungo's, Draco, Ron, Anton and any other male purebloods had been given a protective face mask and had also been spelled several protection charms for anti-infection against the disease. They had also been advised against getting to close to any of the afflicted purebloods and so kept at a relatively safer distance from the hospital bed.

Letting the rest of her inner musings trail off in thought, Harry turned her face and stared intently at Blaise's sleeping form again _Blaise was talking to a strange woman before he collapsed tonight…Who the hell was she and why haven't I been informed of this sooner? _She thought to herself, Byron's previous words of the disease being perpetuated plaguing her mind.

_Could Byron actually be right about this whole thing? If he is and this disease is perpetuated…Then our whole approach to this magical plague was entirely wrong from the very beginning._ She added as an afterthought, stroking her chin in deep silence.

Cradled in her arms, she felt Hermione shift slightly and sniff again – causing Harry to tighten her arms automatically around her frail form. She reached over and offered the brunette another clean tissue from the box beside them, to which Hermione responded to by giving her a weak smile and nod.

Beside them, Ron also sighed and raised a hand to stroke Hermione's tangled mane of brown hair. Within a couple more minutes, Ginny had arrived and once Harry had managed to transfer Hermione carefully into the redheaded woman's arms, she stood up and walked over to Nicholas across the room. The Head Officer was conversing with Draco and Anton near the entrance but when he saw her approaching them, he looked up right away and offered her a brief nod.

Harry nodded back and lowered her voice to soft whisper. "The woman Blaise was talking to before he went into seizure…Who was she? Do we have a record of her identity?" She asked curtly, watching as Nicholas blinked up at her in surprised query. He nodded, however, and looked down briefly to read through some of the investigation reports compiled in his hands.

"I think so…Hold on, let me look for it." As Nicholas paused to rifle through his folders, an awkward silence fell upon the group. Suddenly falling silent at his wife's unexpected nearness, Draco immediately stiffened and turned around, striding away towards the opposite side of the room

Noticing Harry's stung expression, Anton looked awkwardly between her and Draco for several minutes before shrugging and walking off after his older cousin. As soon as she and Nicholas were left alone, Harry sighed to herself again and turned back around to listen to Nicholas' response.

"It says here that Zabini claimed that she was the daughter of one of their old family friends. Completely reliable and trustworthy from what he tells me so we've ruled out any chance of her being the cause of any sabotage or poisoning. We spoke to her minutes before Blaise was admitted into the emergency room. She was also crying and looked genuinely concerned about his condition." Nicholas' words didn't seem to quell Harry's suspicion, however, but strengthened it even more.

She fell silent for several moments and stroked her chin in thought again. "I don't know, Nicholas…Something doesn't feel right. I'm beginning to think Byron _was _right after all about this disease being perpetuated…It all just doesn't seem to add up. I think there's more to this…" She murmured more to herself than to anyone else, causing Nicholas' eyebrows to rise up in surprise.

"So what do you intend for us to do…?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and she bit her lip, flicking her eyes back up to stare intently at Blaise's sleeping form. "How long does Blaise have until he falls into comatose…?" She ignored the curious looks she was receiving from Ron and Ginny and leaned in closer to Nicholas to avoid being heard.

Nicholas raised a suspicious eyebrow at her but answered. "We can't be entirely sure… About two to three days…Give or take a few. Why? What do you intend to do?" He watched as Harry fused her eyebrows and rifled carefully through the investigation records balanced in Nicholas' arms.

"I want you to talk to that woman again…Whatever her name was. Family friend or not, something tells me there's more to this than meets the eye. Have Spencer talk to her but don't bother contacting her first. Just go to her house directly and ask her a few questions about what happened. Do it now." Nicholas nodded firmly at her words and walked out of the room to find Spencer.

As soon as he had left the room, Harry inadvertently looked back up and stared at Draco again – watching sadly as her husband merely continued to ignore her very presence altogether. The Malfoy Head was currently locked in a muffled conversation with Severus, the latter of which was now gathering his potion ingredients back into its case and readying himself to head out of the room.

After the Potions Master left, Draco finally looked back up and met her eyes. Steely silver penetrated into emerald green and for the briefest moment, Harry thought she had only imagined the brief look of regret darken his eyes. It was gone as quickly as she had seen it, however, and the gray orbs hardened again. He sneered spitefully at her, shaking his head and looking away in disgust.

Harry felt like screaming at him but she held herself back, raising a hand and massaging her aching temples in exhaustion. She was just about to walk back over to where Hermione was seated when the doors to the private hospital room blasted open – revealing Byron's heavily flushed face.

The metamorphagus was panting heavily for breath and stopped just in front of her, his unexpected arrival drawing the immediate attention of just about everyone in the room. Seeing the urgency in his golden brown eyes, Harry walked hesitantly over to him and offered him some water.

"Byron…You look exhausted. What happened…?"

He took the glass of water from her hand and took a long sip before he answered, pulling her aside to the far, isolated corner of the room. "Harry…I—I have to talk to you about something important." He hissed, his eyes darting around from side to side to make sure no one heard them.

Once he had ascertained that they were safe from prying eyes and ears, he finally turned to face her again – his rushed voice coming out in a low and ominous tone. "I think I may have figured out what Vincent discovered." He began, taking another inhale of breath in an effort to clear his voice.

Harry's eyes widened at his words but she forced herself to remain silent, flicking her eyes back over to Hermione to make sure her best friend couldn't hear them. When Byron spoke again, however, his voice suddenly became slightly hesitant and uncertain.

"You remember that message on Vincent's palm?"

Harry merely gave him a perplexed look but nodded either way to urge him to continue.

"Well…I don't think it wasn't a dying message or clue or whatever we thought it was." He reached for something buried in his robe pockets and handed it to her. "It was a _REFERENCE NUMBER._" He waited until Harry took the paper in his offered hands before he continued speaking.

"You know how Vincent is _always _writing random stuff down onto the palm of his hand whenever he wanted to make sure he remembered something? I actually found it a bit annoying on several occasions since whenever he'd touch me, he'd manage to smudge the ink on my skin—" He stopped when Harry cringed and held a hand up to silence him, shaking her head in awkward dismay.

"Back to the main subject please, Byron."

Byron cringed in embarrassment and offered her a slightly sheepish smile. "Right…Ahaha…_Anyway. _Uhm…It's basically the same case. He probably wrote it down onto the palm of his hand while researching that day. I saw _THAT _ripped out page from a book on the floor of the CISO archives library that day. I figured it was part of what Vincent was searching for." He watched again as Harry peered down at the torn piece of parchment in her hands.

Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise when she read its contents, however, and she glanced back up at him – her eyebrows fusing together in a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

"…Magical Infusions?!_" _

At her words, Hermione suddenly shot up from her seat behind them but Harry barely noticed, her attention focused solely on Byron's grim face. The dark-haired metamorphagus nodded silently at her query, taking the parchment from her hands again and holding it up into the light.

"It's an ancient Wizarding myth, Harry. The Ceremony of Magical Infusions. It's the _PERFECT _explanation to everything that's been happening lately! Don't you see?!" He shook the paper in his hands and gesticulated madly to the string of Latin words scribbled on it. "This plague is not just some magical disease, Harry…It's a bloody _SCAM!_ This proves it!" Byron had exclaimed louder than he had intended and Harry winced again, glaring at him and indicating for him to quiet down.

When they had made sure that no one had heard them, she finally turned around and addressed him again. "Byron, that's…That's just _CRAZY! _You can't honestly believe that someone who attempt to perform this again in our day and age? It says here that the ceremony of Magical Infusions hasn't been performed for _CENTURIES!_ You'd need to collect—" She cut herself off midsentence and paled in sudden realization, her eyes widening as she snatched the parchment from him again.

Byron grinned widely in triumph and finished the rest of her sentence for her. "—samples of the _PUREST _and the most _POTENT _magical blood. Untainted by _ANY _muggle or creature blood whatsoever…Just like all of the pureblooded victims had thus far." He studied the look of stunned dismay on Harry's face, watching as his cousin-in-law's eyes seemed to widen even more in horror.

He was just about to speak again when a soft, feminine voice suddenly interrupted them out of nowhere—causing both Unspeakable agents to whirl around in surprise. "The Ceremony of Magical Infusions is not a myth, Byron. That's what the CISO department discovered just two years ago during a particular research I participated in… We discovered proof of it actually being performed."

At Hermione's grim voice, Harry and Byron stared intently at her – their faces caught in an identical look of stunned realization. Regardless of their facial expressions, Hermione approached them anyway, stopping in front of them and allowing them to see the haunted look in her swollen eyes.

She took the wrinkled parchment from Harry's hand and skimmed it for a couple of seconds. "You probably don't remember it then, Harry…But this was what I was telling you about two years ago while we were in the Ministry elevators. You weren't listening to me were you?" She shot her a weak glare, causing Harry to wince to herself, shrug and offer her a sheepish, apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Mione…You just sounded so boring—"

"_ANYWAY—" _Hermione shot her best friend another dirty look before she continued, causing the Malfoy Mistress to wince sheepishly again.

"—We confirmed that the ceremony had actually been performed when we managed to dig up a couple of those weird underground ceremonial grounds in Egypt. Those were actually the underground sites we had instructed the Unspeakable Department to investigate before…Remember?"

Harry and Byron's eyes widened in sudden understanding at this but Hermione continued. "We just never explained what they were because the research operation was _strictly _confidential. Restricted _ONLY _to CISO officers." She told them, handing the parchment back to Harry in silence.

When Harry took it from her hands, her green eyes narrowed in realization and she shot Hermione an angry look. "You mean you sent us out there without telling us _ANYTHING _about what the hell we were doing?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been for us?! Did any of you even consider the risks involved in such a stupid operation?!" She snapped and if anything, the outrage in Harry's voice caused Hermione to color and shrink away in embarrassed guilt.

"I—it wasn't my decision, Harry. It had been an order from my direct superior and I couldn't go against it…Besides…When we had issued the order, I had _NO _idea that it would be _YOU _they'd send out there." Her voice shook slightly as she answered and Harry would have snapped at her again had Byron not placed a restraining hand on her shoulder, giving both women a quelling glance.

"Never mind that now, Harry… Back to the more important issue at hand here. What was it that Vincent was researching before he was attacked? What did he find out that night? Do you know?" When Hermione nodded hesitantly at his question, Byron's eyes narrowed and he spoke again.

"…I saw this parchment lying on the floor of the CISO archives. I tried looking for archive number 513 but I couldn't find anything. Do you know where it is, Hermione?" Again, Hermione nodded meekly in response – causing Harry's eyes to flash in indignant anger again.

Before she could stop herself, she clenched her hands tightly into fists and exploded at the other woman in a fit of contemptuous fury. "_WHY THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU CISO PRICKS HIDE THIS FROM US ALL THIS TIME?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TIME YOU FORCED US ALL TO WASTE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK WAS CAUSING THIS GODDAMN PLAGUE?!" _

Hermione winced at the harsh anger in Harry's voice and took a shaky step back, her brown eyes tearing slightly in meek apology. "I—I'm sorry, Harry! We were all forbidden to say anything about it. B—besides… We don't even know much about Magical Infusions or what it did to the victims sacrificed! All the information we knew about it was the actual ceremony itself! U—up until now, we all really did just think that this plague had been nothing but a magical disease!" Her voice broke at the end of her sentence and she shrank back again at the fury in Harry's narrowed eyes.

Sighing and massaging his temples in horrified realization, Byron looked up and silenced another one of Harry's outbursts with another quelling glare. "It's not your fault, Hermione…None of us could have predicted this. Go on…Where can we find archive number 513? Please tell us."

Hermione hesitated again when she saw the angry glare Harry was giving her but nodded slowly, reaching into her robe pockets and pulling out a small, red card. "It's in the restricted section of the CISO archives library. Access is _strictly _authorized only to CISO officers…You may be able to get in if you give them my card, Harry." She meekly handed the red card to Harry in silence.

Harry continued to glare at her but took it reluctantly and placed it into the pocket of her robes. Reading through the ripped out piece of paper again, her eyebrows fused together and she voiced the growing question in her head. "Tell me exactly what you know, Hermione. What are Magical Infusions how exactly do they work? I want you to tell me _everything._"

She looked up and stared intently at the brown-haired woman, waiting impatiently for her to answer. After glancing once around the room to make sure no one else was listening to their conversation, Hermione sighed and turned back around to meet Harry and Byron's grim expressions.

"I—I don't exactly know much about it either, Harry but from what I read…It was a Dark and Ancient Wizarding tradition that was banned in the 1600s because of the amount of death it caused."

She paused for a moment, looking up and meeting Harry's bright green eyes. "I—it was especially used by Dark Wizards back then who wanted to gain more magical power to defeat their enemies. They collected the pure blood of other wizards and performed an ancient ceremony that eventually harnessed these wizards' magical potency and drained them of all their power altogether."

Harry and Byron both paled in horror at this but Hermione forced herself to continue speaking.

"Eventually…After having amassed enough power, those wizards whose blood was used in the ceremony would die and all their magic would be successfully transferred and preserved into a magical artifact…A jewel…A chalice…Any magical object they wanted. And from here, a person could draw upon these powers as his own magic. S—somewhat like an artificial source of magic if you will…" Hermione's voice trembled slightly as she said this, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at her husband.

"I—I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I—I don't even know _much _about it! Th—the rest is in the archive…You'll have to look for it yourselves. I—I can't leave Blaise…" Her voice faded and she turned to face Harry again, all the remaining color in her cheeks fading in growing fear and suspicion. "If this is really an attempt at performing magical infusion… I—if it is…What are we going to do, Harry?"

Harry refused to answer her and turned to look at Byron again, narrowing her eyes at him in question. "If this _IS_ the case and some sick bastard _IS _trying to perform this ancient ceremony again…Why attack just the male purebloods? Why not attack any of the women?" Byron _AND _Hermione both shook their heads at her, the former of which answering her question.

"Blood is much more concentrated and potent in _MALE _purebloods, Harry. It's because men don't experience any of the fluctuation or magical imbalances women experience during pregnancy. Their magic remains pure and untainted." Byron explained and Harry nodded slowly in understanding.

She still wasn't fully convinced, however, and shook her head at them again. "B—but…Then what about the case of that pureblooded Japanese Witch you met two years ago? She had the same symptoms as everyone else but _SHE _wasn't a male. Why was _SHE _attacked?" Again, it was Byron who answered her question and his voice sound even more convinced as he spoke.

"She was the _ONLY _one of the victims who didn't fall into comatose, Harry. I'd like to believe that whoever this bastard is…He experimented some of this on several people outside of Europe first before he began his attack. It didn't work on the woman so that's when he must have discovered that he could only attack pureblooded _MALES._" He answered again, running a hand through his hair.

When Harry didn't answer him, he looked up again and offered her a weak grin. "Well we know _ONE _thing…We know this bastard is in Europe. All of the victims of the plague so far are all from Europe. The important question now is who the hell is next?" Harry heard his words but they seemed to fall upon deaf ears, her attention focused solely on the familiar feeling of foreboding in her chest.

Turning to Hermione again, she arched an eyebrow and voiced another important question that was forming in her head. "Hermione…To be able to properly perform a Magical Infusion Ceremony… How many pureblooded males does one need to sacrifice?" The question sent a shiver down Hermione's spine but she answered anyway, her voice falling into a shaky whisper.

"U—uhm…L—let's see…A witch or wizard could only perform the ceremony _once _every leap year and generally…I think the number of purebloods needed varies. It depends on how strong the person performing the ceremony wanted the magic source to be." Hermione paused and swallowed the forming lump in her throat, her weary features creasing into a dark frown.

"G—generally, though…Like the leap years…The required number of purebloods fell into powers of _FOUR. 16…64…_In fact, some of the sickest wizards in those times even performed ceremonies that sacrificed _264_ purebloods in those days—" The rest of Hermione's sentence was cut off when Harry turned sharply to Byron again and gave him a sharp look.

"Byron…How many purebloods have been admitted into St. Mungo's so far because of the disease?" Harry's heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she watched Byron peer intently at the folders in his hands. His eyes darkened as he looked back up and answered her in a hoarse, shaky whisper.

"Including Blaise tonight…_Sixty three." _

Harry just stared blankly at him. At the back of her neck, she felt a familiar prickly feeling plaguing her senses. It didn't take long for Byron to look up and meet her eyes and within their expressions alone, they exchanged the same thoughts that seemed to be running through their head.

S_ixty three…Sixty three male purebloods down…This year's a leap year…If this bastard aims for sixty four, only one more is needed…We have to stop this as fast as possible._ She opened her mouth to tell him this but even before she could say anything, the doors behind them blasted open again and Nicholas flew in – startling all three of them with his panicked expression.

A couple more Unspeakable agents followed in after the Head Officer and gathered around them. At their sudden entry, they received a couple of indignant glares from most of Blaise's family friends gathered inside – including Draco and the other purebloods who glared at them in annoyance.

Nicholas ignored this, however, and grabbed Harry by her shoulders. "Harry! I have to tell you something important right now!" He didn't bother waiting for her to answer and grabbed her by her arms, pulling her towards the side of the room near the door. Once they had gotten away from everyone else and Byron had ushered Hermione back towards Blaise's bed, the rest of the Unspeakable Agents also gathered around them and huddled together in a tight circle.

It was Nicholas who spoke first and he addressed his urgent voice mostly to Harry. "Spencer contacted us about five minutes ago…He's on his way back here. He said that he just spoke with the woman Blaise had been talking to when he collapsed…" His voice fell into an eerie whisper.

"Something's wrong, Harry… She said she hasn't talked to Blaise _AT ALL _this entire week. Spencer scanned her memory…She wasn't lying. She really _hasn't _had any contact with Blaise at all. That means—" Harry cut him off abruptly and finished the rest of his sentence for him.

"—it _MEANS…_Someone must have been with Blaise tonight in the guise of someone else." She met Byron's eyes, nodding to the other Malfoy in growing realization. "You were right all along; Byron…This disease _IS _perpetuated. I don't understand how yet but now we know for sure…"

Byron nodded silently in agreement, his eyebrows fused together in thought. The rest of the Unspeakable agents around them looked back and forth from him to Harry several times, waiting for any further instructions. After another moment of silence, Byron finally spoke up again.

"Harry…I think we need someone to go the CISO department right now to look for archive number 513. I'll go and report to the Minister in the meantime about this latest development—"

Harry nodded in understanding. "Affirmative. I—I'll head over there right now…The rest of you remain with Nicholas right here and coordinate with the Aurors for further investigations. Nicholas, please inform Kingsley of what we've discovered and confirm if the same case applies to the other purebloods the night they collapsed. I'll leave you in charge of the other Aurors that arrive later." Nicholas took note of her words and nodded briskly, turning to leave the room.

As soon as the other Unspeakables had scattered off in separate directions, Harry turned to face her friends again. She was just about to head on out of the room when she stopped, her eyes inadvertently locking onto a familiar pair of bright, mercury orbs. Draco had been conversing softly with Pansy across the room when he had looked up at her, inadvertently meeting her eyes.

Harry blinked and stared blankly at him – unable to do or say anything else. After several moments of staring intently at each other's tense facial expressions, Draco finally sneered at her. He shook his head and looked away – failing to see the crestfallen look on her face at his reaction.

Sighing, Harry looked away and addressed the other remaining occupants of the room with one last smile and nod. After she had done all this, she finally turned back around and met Byron's expectant look with a firm nod of affirmation. "I'm heading to the archives library so I'll talk to you tomorrow night. Until then, inform me about any important finds you come across. Be safe, Byron."

* * *

"Waiting for me, love…?"

Halfway drunk and just about ready to leave the MMC Charity Ball that next night altogether, a slightly dazed Draco blinked and looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. He squinted several times and soon found himself staring into the smiling, beautiful face of his wife in front of him – who at that very moment had approached him near the end of the open bar of the MMC ballroom.

Looking up at her and resting his gaze on her approaching form, Draco noted with a hint of bitterness that Jaimee looked nothing less than _stunning _that night – decked out completely in a delicate black silk evening dress that wrapped snugly around her body. The dress flowed gracefully into a skirt just above her knees, exposing her long legs and the expensive sandals on her feet.

Draco took one look at her appearance and managed a mocking sneer, shaking his head at her in contempt. "What are _YOU_ doing here, Potter? Finally remembered you were a _WIFE?_" He drawled sarcastically, ignoring her cringe as he took another sip from the glass of vodka in his hand.

He gestured to the bartender behind him for another glass of liquor before turning back and giving her another mocking smile, arching a single eyebrow expectantly at her uncertain expression. "Well? Speak up, Potter…From what I gathered in the hospital room last night…You and Byron were supposed to be researching in the CISO library all night. What are you doing _here?_"

Harry hesitated for a couple of seconds before taking another tentative step toward him, quirking the corner of her lips into a small, teasing smile when she heard the soft, jazz music beginning to play in the background. "Oh come on, Draco…Don't be like that. I actually went home early tonight to see you…Your mother told me you'd be here at the MMC charity ball so I came here as quickly as I could." She said with a seductive smile, reaching up to clasp her hands around his neck.

Draco stiffened immediately at this and attempted to shove her off, his eyes darting around the crowd of watching guests that were gathered around the ballroom. "Harry, what are you doing?! There are hundreds of guests in here, don't make a scene again." He hissed angrily at her, unclasping the hands she had wrapped around his neck and flinging them back at her in annoyance.

She pouted slightly at this and glared at him, settling down onto the bar stool beside him instead. "Oh come on, Draco…It's been so _LONG_ since we've had some alone time to ourselves these days…" Her voice trailed off suggestively. She crossed one of her legs primly over another, purposely drawing her husband's gaze down to rest on her pale thighs as exposed by her short skirt.

Harry saw his reaction instantly and hid a knowing smirk, adjusting her sitting position a bit more so that more of her legs were laid out for her husband's hungry eyes. When Draco didn't say anything in response and merely continued to stare silently at her legs, she spoke again – speaking a little louder so as he could hear her above the loud murmurs and music of the party around them.

"I meant to get here sooner but I actually almost forgot that MMC had a charity ball tonight—" Draco cut her off by leering and shaking his head, downing the rest of his drink in a single gulp. When he looked back up, he placed his glass back onto the table and addressed her with a scoff.

"Oh don't worry about it, Harry. I'm quite used to you being late or forgetting things already at this point – including our anniversary last night which you _STILL _haven't even apologized for—"

He stopped talking when Jaimee reached over and placed a gentle single finger to his lips, effectively silencing the rest of Draco's properly-formed, sarcastic retort. His words immediately died on his lips and he glared at her, his eyes dripping with contempt and a scathing sneer on his face.

"What is _this, _Harry…? Are you trying to make up for everything that's happened _NOW?! _Things aren't that fucking easy anymore…Things…_Change._" His eyes darkened even more in disdain as she moved closer toward him and sighed, her beautiful features creasing into a small frown.

When Harry seemed unable to say anything else for those next few seconds, Draco finally rolled his eyes and attempted to push her away. "Forget this, Harry…It's too late now. Frankly, I don't have any more time for your apologies and I'm sick of all this altogether." As he turned to go, Jaimee finally surprised him by stepping forward and placing both her soft palms on either side of his face.

"Draco, wait…Listen—" Her actions halted his movements and caused Draco to stiffen in confusion, his hands going up to rest on her waist and his eyes widening in surprise.

"Harry, what—"

Jaimee smashed her lips insistently against his – drowning out the rest of his confused, rambling protests with a hard, passionate kiss. He stood shock still there for a couple of tense seconds, his entire body stubbornly refusing to cooperate with his thoughts. His mind had fallen into a complete _blank _at this point and all he could do was stand there in utter disbelief.

Undaunted by his lack of response, Jaimee continued to kiss him anyway – her arms going up to wrap around his neck. He felt another shiver of desire running down his spine when his wife let out a soft moan of pleasure against their intertwined lips – the familiar, delightful sound successfully causing all the remaining blood in Draco's head to surge south to his rapidly growing arousal.

_Oh Merlin…Don't…Don't let her do this to you again, Malfoy! Don't!_

Draco heard his own thoughts echoing in his head and he clenched his fists, desperately trying to turn his face away from hers. As soon as he managed to pull his lips away from her kiss, it took him several more minutes to compose himself long enough to whisper something angrily into her ear.

"You think…You think this makes everything _okay, _Potter?! Damn you…_Damn you! _I'm not your goddamn toy! _Sex_ doesn't make the problem go away! I won't play this game with you!" He tried to twist himself away from her but she tightened her arms around him, pulling him closer against her.

"Draco, _please._ I know you're still angry with me, love…And I _know _thatthere seems to be so many problems in our marriage right now…But just stay with me…_tonight_. Please." She paused and looked up into his eyes again, her bright green eyes glinting brightly with unmistakable lust.

"I _know _what you need from me right now, love…What does _every _man need from his wife…? Let me give you what I know you want, Draco…" She sounded so smug as she said this that it brought a derisive sneer to Draco's face. His eyes narrowed and he glared spitefully at her in angry indignation.

"You think you know everything, don't you? You arrogant _bitch—_"

Jaimee giggled softly under her breath and rewarded him with a flirtatious smile, biting her lip coyly as she trailed a finger down the front of his chest. "Well…I'm _right…_Aren't I…?" She teased, leaning closer against him and making sure her breasts pressed up alluringly against his firm chest.

At the sound of her husband's breath hitching sharply into his throat, her smug smile widened and she whispered something into his ear again. "Come on, Draco…Tell me I'm wrong…Tell me you don't need me anymore…Tell me you don't _want_ me anymore…Tell me…" Her voice fell into a husky, breathless drawl, causing Draco's entire frame to tense up even further in frustration.

With as much self-control as he could manage, he tried to twist himself away again – his eyes flicking up and darting desperately around the room in search of an exit. "_STOP IT, _Harry…This is _NOT _what I want! I don't want _THIS! _I want you t—to…_BE THERE…_To be a mother for our kids…To be my best friend again…To be my goddamn_ WIFE_! _NOT THIS!" _His voice broke off when her hands began tracing seductive circles along his chest, her fingernails grazing teasingly along his shirt.

Jaimee looked highly amused at his words, her eyes gleaming maliciously with unmistakable triumph. "You sound like a _woman, _Draco…Are you honestly telling me that you don't want to do this tonight—" She bent down and began planting a line of searing kisses along his jaw, immediately causing Draco to swallow the forming lump in his throat and weakly try to turn away again.

"_Fuck you—"_

She giggled again and gave him another kiss along the base of his neck. "_That's_ kind ofthe idea; darling…I know you want it. No matter _how _mad you are at me…I _know _that there's no one else who could satisfy you like _I _could…Isn't that right, baby…? Tell me you want me...I know you do."

Draco felt an overwhelming mixture of lust and unmistakable anger seeping into his chest.

"You know what…?! Fuck you! I am _NOT _your toy, Harry. I'm not some useless, pathetic sap of a husband who waits _HOURS _for you at some godforsaken restaurant the entire night and then just falls all over himself for you whenever you want a good lay! Screw this marriage! I'm going home!_"_

He tried to push her away and leave but Jaimee ignored him, deliberately taking the hands he had placed on her waist and moving them down so that they rested suggestively on the curve of her rounded bottom. Again, Draco felt his body's immediate reaction to her body and he took a step away from her, gritting his teeth in frustration as he tried to control his traitorous hormones.

His sex-starved body had already been sending him all sorts of mixed signals for the past ten minutes since she had approached him – screaming profanely at him and telling him to just take her upstairs and screw her senseless in the company's penthouse. His stubborn pride had refused to let him, however, and continued to keep him completely still despite the raging lust plaguing his senses.

Unfortunately, Jaimee seemed to realize the internal struggle Draco was having himself and smirked again; taking the empty glass of vodka from his hand and setting it back down onto the bar behind them. When she looked back up to face him, she winked and gave him a suggestive smile.

"MMC has a private penthouse upstairs, right…? How about it, Draco…? How long has it been now…? More than 2 months…? I know you, darling…Don't deny me anymore. Let's take this upstairs."

Draco clenched his jaw in stubborn denial but Jaimee could easily see that he was beginning to cave in – especially since his stormy eyes had already darkened into a predatory, steely gray. "You left me waiting like a fool at that restaurant last night. Do you have any idea how humiliating—"

Jaimee scoffed, shaking her head and resting her hands back seductively onto his shoulders. "—that doesn't matter _NOW_, does it? You can deny that all you want…But no matter _how _angry you are…You still can't resist me." She leaned in closer and licked the outer shell of his ear, chuckling under her breath when she felt a shiver of arousal wracking through his entire frame.

"Don't _tease _me, Potter…You _KNOW _what happens when you do that."

She cringed in pain when one of his hands moved up and gripped her sharply by her arm, twisting her around roughly so that her back met his firm chest. His other hand snaked down and wrapped tightly around her waist – yanking her body backwards against him so that her arse pressed tightly against the hard, bulging arousal that had already formed between his legs.

Looking up once to make sure that the crowd of guests and other aristocratic wizards gathered in the ballroom around them couldn't see them, Draco let out one sharp cuss under his breath and ground his arousal _once _against her from behind – eliciting what would have been a very loudgasp of pain from his wife had he not leaned down hissed something dangerously into her ear.

"If you know what's good for you, _Potter_…You will keep _quiet_ and listen to me_._"

His words came out harsh and angry. Without bothering for her to respond, he gripped her chin tightly and forced her to look at him over her shoulder so she could see the fire blazing in his gray eyes. "Now let me make one thing perfectly _CLEAR _about what's going to happen tonight…"

Jaimee met his angry gaze easily and returned his hissed words with a seductive, teasing smirk – her green eyes glowing strangely with an eerie glint that he didn't quite recognize.

"This changes _NOTHING _between us."

Her smirk widened at Draco's words and she turned around to press herself closer against his chest, sliding her arms up to lock around his neck. _W_ithout warning, she pressed her lips firmly against his again, her body shivering delightfully when one of his hands slid up higher along her skirt.

The last thing Draco managed to see before he practically carried Jaimee impatiently out of the guest-filled MMC ballroom in his sexual agitation was Anton and Reggie's surprised gazes following them out – the younger Malfoy sons' facial expressions one of genuine confusion and uncertainty.

* * *

_BRRRRRRRINNNG! BRRRRRRIIIIINNNNG! BRRRRRRIIIIINNNNG! _

Skulking around in the middle of the dark CISO archives library around the same time that night, a highly irritated Jaimee grunted and looked up from the humongous pile of dusty textbooks and parchments that lay scattered along the floor around her. Scowling and grumbling under her breath in annoyance, she stumbled out from within the dusty, sooty heap of books and clambered along the floor for her muggle cellphone – her hands frantically patting along the carpet.

"Ugh…Where in Merlin's name is that…Bugger…Is it here—_Ah!_" She snatched the ringing cellphone up and sat up straighter, flicking the muggle device open and holding it up against her ear.

"Yep? Byron, what do you want? I thought I told you I'd see you in a couple of hours—" She paused when she heard Byron's agitated voice blaring at her from the other line. Strangely enough, her cousin-in-law sounded irritated as he spoke to her, his words coming out in a low, angry growl.

"Harry, I thought I made it especially _CLEAR _that you were supposed to gather as much research as you could this entire day! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing over there?!"

Harry felt a surge of annoyance at his snappiness and hopped back up onto her feet, scowling and walking around the dark, deserted CISO library in impatience. "What are you on about now, Byron? I have been doing nothing since this _MORNING _but reading through archive 513 in this bloody library! I'm _tired_, I'm _hungry _and I haven't even gotten a decent night's _SLEEP _since I came here—"

She stopped when Byron cut her off again and practically exploded, his voice blaring loudly into her cellphone's earpiece. "Don't _LIE _to me, Harry! Anton just called me three minutes ago and told me that you and Draco just went up to the MMC penthouse! What are you doing wasting time?!"

Harry's eyebrows flew up in shocked confusion at this but Byron continued, his words ringing clearly in her ears with angry indignation. "Look! I understand that you and my cousin have been having problems lately with your marriage and all but this is hardly a time to fix that _NOW_, Harry! I promise that once we get things done, we'll _both _have time to sort our problems out—"

_"What did you say?!" _

Byron paused when he heard the suspicion in Harry's voice. The former Gryffindor had stopped right in front of one of the ancient mirrors near the front of the CISO library and stood staring intently at her own mirror image, her eyes peering intently into her reflection's worried, anxious frown.

When Byron seemed unable to say anything for the next couple of seconds, Harry spoke again – her voice coming out in a loud shout that was laced with a hint of frustration. "Byron, _WHAT DID YOU SAY?! WHO _saw me with Draco and _WHERE?!" _She heard him cursing under his breath on the other line, his voice suddenly growing heavy with haunted realization as he answered.

"You…aren't with Draco right now are you…? Where are you, Harry? Who's with you?"

Harry let out a growl of frustration and slammed her fist into one of the nearby library stalls in front of her. "_NO, GODDAMN IT! _I'm at the CISO library like I've always been for the last couple ofhours since this morning! I haven't left! What the bloody hell are you on about, Byron?!"

Byron seemed unable to say anything remotely coherent for the next couple of seconds after that. Harry began to hear him cursing frantically on the other line – his loud, angry shouts sounding heavily infused with a mixture of horrified realization and anger.

"_OH FUCK! OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! N—NO, IT CAN'T BE!" _

Jaimee opened her mouth to ask him what he meant but Byron cut her off abruptly and began ranting furiously at her over the phone, his voice trembling with desperation and mortified urgency.

"Harry! _Listen to me! _You have to get to Draco right now. _RIGHT NOW! _Do you understand me?! _GO! NOW! _I don't have time to explain everything right now but—"

Harry's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the phone in her haste to get to the library exit, her hands already shaking when she heard the fear in her cousin-in-law's voice. "What?! What's going on, Byron?! I don't understand, where _IS _Draco?! Where do I find him?! Tell me what's happening—"

"He's at the MMC Charity Ball tonight! Anton said he just went up to the penthouse on the top floor! _LISTEN TO ME, YOU HAVE TO GET THERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN! ARE YOU HEARING ME?!"_

"_WHY, BYRON?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! FUCKING TELL ME! DID DRACO CATCH THE DISEASE?! IS HE OKAY?! WHAT AREN'T YOU TELLING ME?!" _

Byron cursed again and practically screamed at her from the other line, his angry shouts ringing clearly and painfully against her ear. "_LISTEN TO ME HARRY! YOU HAVE TO GET OVER THERE RIGHT NOW! I'M IN FRANCE AND I'LL TRY TO GET THERE AS FAST AS I CAN BUT DRACO—"_

The rest of her cousin-in-law's frantic shouts were cut off brusquely when Jaimee collided with a rather tall, well-built figure in front of her – forcing the former Gryffindor to stop running altogether and wince in pain. Before she could realize what had happened, her muggle cellular phone had slipped from her hand and crashed listlessly onto the floor – causing her to let out a horrified gasp. She looked up, staring blankly into the handsome, apologetic grimace of one Maximillian Thornton.

"Wh—Wha—_Max! _What are you doing here?! I—I—my _phone!_ Shit—"

Max immediately cringed at her words, ducking his head sheepishly behind his hand. "Oh bloody hell, Harry! What are you doing here at this hour? I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there and I was running and – I'm so sorry!" He bent down and scooped what remained of her cellphone back up from the floor, biting his lip in apology.

Harry snatched the phone from his hand and held it back up against her ear, cursing loudly to herself when all she was met with was a dead, broken silence. "Fuck! Phone's broken. I—I'm really sorry, Max! I can't really talk right now, I—I have to go! I—I'm sorry! I'll see you around! Take care!"

He opened his mouth to answer her but Harry was already running off towards the department exit before he could say anything, her rushed footsteps echoing loudly along the silent and deserted hallways. Just before she turned the corner and stormed out of the department office altogether, Max turned around and stared intently at her – a slow and eerie smirk already forming on his lips.

* * *

"Mmmm…. _Oh Draco…"_

His wife's soft, beautiful moans rang over and over again in Draco's ears and echoed loudly in the silent bedroom. He ground himself harder against her, his lean frame pinning her slender form down onto the large, king-sized bed of the luxurious MMC penthouse above his office. Her gasping voice reverberated so clearly in the large suite that night that Draco felt himself hardening even more, his hands plunging down and beginning to rip impatiently through the clothing of her gown.

"Too…Much…Fucking…Clothing…." He gave another incoherent growl and smashed his lips against hers again, sliding his tongue into her mouth and muffling the rest of her aching whimpers.

"Mmm…" She slid her arms around his neck and eventually slipped one of her hands underneath his button-down shirt, raking her fingernails along the smooth skin of his firm back.

He hissed at this and broke his lips away from hers, trailing it down lingeringly over the patch of creamy skin just below her neck. Her legs wrapped invitingly around his waist as he did this and this urged him to slide his hands up the smooth skin of her long legs – moving up along the inside of her thighs until they were tracing lingeringly along the lace edges of her silk underwear.

_Now wait a minute…Silk underwear…What the bloody— _Draco's eyebrows shot up and he pulled away to stare curiously at her, one of his eyebrows raising up higher than the other in mild suspicion. "_Silk _panties, Potter…? Since when did _you_ wear those? I thought you didn't like them."

Harry looked up at him with a blank stare, her cheeks flushing slightly in realization.

When Draco continued to stare at her, she managed a dismissive chuckle and shook her head, reaching her hands back up and wrapping them around his neck. "I was just trying something new…I thought you might like them, darling…Wouldn't you rather be taking them off, though…?"

She didn't bother waiting for him to respond as she leaned up and caught his lips in another searing kiss – successfully making Draco forget all about his question altogether. Within a couple more moments, his hands were plundering her body again and his mouth was back to marking a trail of red bites along her neck – his lips coming to rest on the skin just above the neckline of her gown.

He felt her shivering violently when one of his hands had reached up and cupped possessively over her breast, his other one moving down and slipping back into the hemline of her skirt. As he trailed his hand upwards along her leg once more, he leaned down to bury his face against her neck – inhaling a whiff of her sweet, familiar scent and smirking when he felt her trembling in his arms.

The minute he did this, however, the smirk on his face immediately disappeared and in its place grew a small frown, his eyebrows fusing together in belated, disgusted realization. Blinking several times as though to confirm his suspicions, Draco resisted the urge to shudder and pulled away from her as though she had caught on fire, his eyes narrowing as he glared down at her face.

_She smells…Different…?! Too much cheap perfume…! Who the— _Draco stared intently into what appeared to be the familiar, beautiful face of his wife – his lingering gaze studying every single detail of her face. Jaimee just stared back up at him with a tense and wary expression creasing her features, her eyes widening in anticipation and a slow, uneasy snarl forming on her lips.

When he continued to stare apprehensively at her without saying anything Jaimee finally spoke up first – forcing out a soft laugh and reaching a hand up to cup his face. "What's wrong, darling…? Shall I top instead—" She smirked and tried to position herself over him but Draco stiffened immediately and shoved her away, his face immediately paling in mortified revulsion.

"….Who are you?!"

His face continued to turn several more shades ashen and he backed away from her, wiping angrily at his mouth. He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to jump off the bed and throw up in his disgust but instead, he settled for glaring at her, watching the smirk growing on her face.

"What…? What ever do you mean, darling…? It's _me…_Jaimee. I'm your wife…Remember?" She feigned a confused, offended expression but Draco was _way _past mere suspicion at that point. He sneered, grabbed his wand from the nearby bedside table and pointed it directly at her beautiful face.

"_Aperio Verita!"_

Jaimee's green eyes seemed to flash in panic when she heard the spell but even before she had a chance to react, a puff of smoke erupted from Draco's wand and surrounded her – obscuring her entire form from Draco's vision. Once the smoke had cleared and he could see clearly into her face, he nearly fell off the bed in shock. His wide silver eyes riveted upwards to focus sharply on the glaring, scowling face of the familiar blonde in front of him, his eyebrows arching upwards in mortified disbelief.

"…_Natasha?!" _

His personal secretary answered him with a _very _menacing sneer, one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows arching elegantly in amusement. "Mmm… My, my, Master Malfoy…I had no idea you were so _rough _in the bedroom. How does your wife deal with it? Is _that _why she won't sleep with you anymore?" She teased seductively, moving across the bed toward him again. Draco stiffened and shoved her away, reaching over to the bedside table and shrugging himself back into his jacket.

"This is _BY FAR_ the lowest thing a woman has ever done to get my attention." He sneered at her over his shoulder and shook his head in disgust. When Natasha looked as though she was going to say something in response, he spoke again – his attention focused on re-clasping the buttons of his jacket. "Oh…And in case you didn't know already…You are _FIRED_, Richardson. Get the _FUCK _out!"

Natasha's flirtatious smile darkened instantly into a dangerous leer, her violet-tinted eyes glinting eerily in anger. "Oh…But Master Malfoy…We were having _SO _much fun. Wouldn't you much rather put my services into good use tonight? I'm _very _talented, you see…" As she said this, her voice shifted several levels in pitch and in confusion, Draco turned around to shout at her again – his eyes immediately growing as wide as saucers when he was met with Jaimee's face.

She smiled invitingly at him, leaning back down and laying her body onto the bed.

"Is this what you want, Sir…? Or perhaps something different—" In a single spontaneous flash of magic, her face and entire body transformed itself again and Draco found himself staring into Natasha's attractive features once more. At this, his gray eyes finally dawned in stunned realization.

"You're an unregistered…_metamorph…?" _

Instead of answering him, she giggled and shook out the long, blonde tresses of her hair. "I can be _anything _you want me to be, Master Malfoy…Who else would you like me to look like?"

Draco cringed in horrified disgust as he watched Natasha transform herself into several more familiar women within the span of a couple more split seconds –Jaimee, Hermione, Luna, Pansy, Daphne – before turning back to her original form and offering him another suggestive smile.

Fuming with anger, Draco answered her with a low growl and shoved her right off the bed. "You sick, disgusting bitch! How dare you?! I ought to have you arrested—"

Natasha didn't bother waiting for the rest of Draco's angry tirade to finish. The minute she managed to regain her balance, she turned back around and launched herself right at him – pinning him down onto the bed and muffling the rest of his words by smashing her lips insistently against his.

Draco's eyes immediately widened and he placed his hands onto her shoulders in an attempt to shove her off – all the while trying to voice out his protests through their intertwined lips.

"_MMMPH…RICHARDSON! WHAT THE FUCK?! GET THE BLOODY HELL OFF OF ME—" _

He stopped struggling when he heard the bedroom doors behind them creak open. Stiffening in anticipation, Natasha pulled away from where she was _still _straddling him on the bed and whirled around in surprise just in time to see a lone figure peer slowly into the room from behind the door.

As soon as Draco heard the soft, familiar gasp that followed this, however, he shoved Natasha off of him as hard as he could and quickly hopped back up to his feet in utter panic – his wide gray eyes flicking across the room and meeting his wife's stunned, slightly blurry green eyes.

"_H—Harry?!"_

He watched as she stared right back at him with a completely stunned, heartbroken expression on her beautiful face – her features slowly creasing into a pained grimace that seemed to coincide with the anguished tears that were beginning to flood her bright green eyes. Instead of answering him, she swallowed the painful lump in her throat and took a shaky step backwards, her slender fingers trembling as she slowly clasped her hands into tight, angry fists.

From where she had fallen onto the floor, Natasha scowled and stood back up – pouting and rubbing at the forming bump on her blonde head. When she saw the look of disbelieving betrayal on Harry's face across the room, however, her scowl was instantly replaced by a small, smug smile.

"Oh…Good evening, Mistress Malfoy…Master Malfoy and I weren't that aware you were going to come tonight…" She let her voice trail off suggestively after this and giggled, turning around and smiling seductively at Draco again. The former Slytherin seemed to pale further at Natasha's words and turned back to stare imploringly at Harry across the room, shaking his head furiously at her.

"Harry…You _have _to believe me. This is _NOT _what it looks like. Don't listen to this lying bitch. _NOTHING _happened, I _SWEAR! _You know I would _NEVER_—" He broke the rest of his own words off and made to walk toward her trembling form, raising his hands up at her in his helplessness.

Harry continued to stare blankly at him for a couple more tense minutes. The glistening in her eyes was more visible now and was already beginning to trail down her cheeks as harsh, bitter tears. As she stared into Draco's pleading expression, she felt a sense of anger beginning to flood her senses – her slim shoulders already beginning to wrack slightly in violent, barely-restrained sobs.

"I—I…I c—can't believe you…A—after everything you've been blaming me for…Y—you… Lying… Cheating…_BASTARD! _H—how dare you—_"_

Draco reached a hand out and tried to clasp her by the wrist but she shoved him rouhgly away, raising one of her hands and bringing it down hard across his face in a painful slap. The harsh, sharp sound echoed clearly in the silence of the bedroom and brought another smirk to Natasha's lips, causing the blonde to giggle softly to herself and plop back down onto the end of the bed.

Still reeling from the strong impact of her palm against his slowly reddening cheek, Draco snapped his face back up and tried to grab her again – clamping his hands down hard onto her shaking shoulders. In a growing fit of unstable emotions, Jaimee fought to hold back the sobs that were threatening to escape her and struggled wildly against his arms.

"_LET ME GO, DRACO! YOU CHEATING SON OF A BITCH! I HATE YOU! LET ME GO!" _She screamed at him and if anything, the cracking, feminine pitch of her shaking voice sent a sharp stab of pain right through Draco's chest. He tightened his grip on her shoulders and tried to peer down to meet her eyes, the expression on his handsome face one of calming, assertive reassurance.

"Harry…Please! _NOTHING _happened! I know how bad this all looks but you _HAVE _to believe me! Come on, you _KNOW _me! I would _NEVER _do something like this! I thought she was _YOU_! She's—"

She raised a hand again but this time – instead of slapping him across the face – she fisted her fingers and slammed her fist right into his jaw. The impressive force of her punch cut off Draco's words and eventually sent him stumbling backwards a few steps. He winced to himself and clutched at his aching jaw in pain, shaking his head and looking back up to stare at her again.

"Harry…Please…You have to believe me! _TRUST ME, DAMN IT—_!"

He failed to see any more of her reaction altogether as Jaimee had already whirled around and began storming out of the penthouse – the heavy heel of her boots thudding loudly against the polished, wooden floor. Draco cursed loudly and tried to chase after her but even before he got to the bedroom doors, Harry had whirled around again and let out a weak, broken sigh.

"I…I don't know about this marriage anymore, Draco…I think…We should get a divorce."

Nothing else except her last five words seemed to reverberate in Draco's head for those next few minutes. He barely even realized that Harry had already left the penthouse altogether – leaving him staring after her retreating back with an expression of heartbroken realization on his face.

_D—d—divorce…? B—but…Th—that's…not possible…Not me…Not us…No…N—never…No…Not possible…_ Draco felt himself weakening when his knees began to give out from under him, forcing him to stumble back towards the bedroom and collapse exhaustedly onto the edge of the bed behind him.

_Divorce is not an option for us, Harry…No… _He was so caught up in his own overwhelming thoughts in that moment that he never even noticed that Natasha had crawled right back up behind him on the bed and wrapped her slim arms around his neck from behind. She bent her head down and leaned in closer to whisper something into his ear, resting her chin comfortably against his shoulder.

"…Hmm…Is your wife not staying, Mistress Malfoy…? Perhaps we could pick up where we left off…?" She nuzzled his neck teasingly and planted several kisses against his jaw but Draco barely heard her, his attention still focused on the doors Harry had slammed when she had walked out.

_Why…D—divorce…?_ He winced when he heard the ugly word in his own head, his eyes dimming sadly in defeat. The hope he had been clinging to that night that his marriage would eventually come through was long gone now. At this point, Draco was pretty sure that he'd be lucky enough if he got a chance to even _talk _to his stubborn wife before she initiated the divorce herself.

Natasha seemed not to sense his lack of attention and continued talking, sliding her hands down even lower so that they were resting against his chest. "Master Malfoy…You know I have always been meaning to ask you…Your wife…She's one of the top Unspeakable Agents in the Ministry right…?"

She paused and waited for him to answer her, watching as Draco finally seemed to blink himself blearily out his thoughts long enough to look at her and shove her hands off his shoulders. When he deliberately refused to acknowledge her question altogether and merely began to walk back out the door in silence, she spoke up again – her smile transforming slowly into a triumphant smirk.

"I have to be rather honest…This makes things easier for me." She stood back up and slowly followed after him, twirling her wand idly along her long, perfectly manicured fingers. Draco continued to ignore her, however, and began to walk distractedly towards the penthouse exit doors.

"You're fired, Richardson. Get the fuck out of my sight—"

Natasha spoke on anyway. "…You see…Now that she's gone and out of the way, Master Malfoy…Do you what I'm capable of….?" She waited until Draco finally seemed to realize the full meaning of her question and whirled around, his eyebrows fusing together in instant suspicion.

"Excuse me…?!"

Her smile grew even more and she chuckled at his reaction, finally raising her wand up and pointing it directly at his face. "Do you know how the magical disease is transmitted, Master Malfoy…?"

Draco's snapped wide open in immediate alertness and he reached a hand into his robes for his wand, pointing it back at her in warning. "Y—_YOU?! TRY IT, YOU BITCH AND I'LL—"_

He stopped midsentence just as a grimace of pain crossed his face, followed by a burning stinging from the nape of his neck that was slowly beginning to spread all over his body. As he felt his legs giving out and his weakening form falling backwards against the floor, he managed to glance back upwards just before he fell – locking his mercury orbs with a pair of red-speckled brown eyes.

"_Sweet dreams, Malfoy…" _

* * *

_How could he…? How the FUCK could he…?! Was THAT what Byron wanted me to see?! _

Harry was barely aware of the crowd of watching guests that had turned to watch her racing out of the MMC ballroom that night in tears. She continued to push past them in rapidly growing desperation, her vision already thoroughly blurred and her entire body trembling with emotions.

She managed to bump into several of the older Malfoys and a couple of Draco's cousins along the way but she paid their concerned inquires no attention, fighting her way through the crowd of guests as fast as she possibly could. When she got to the very end of the ballroom just a couple of steps near the exit, she crashed right into another tall cloaked figure hurrying to get into the room – causing the both of them to wince and end up falling painfully backwards onto the ballroom floor.

When she looked back up, Jaimee let out an indignant curse and glared warningly at her offender – a stream of interesting insults already forming in her head. "You insensitive prick! Why don't you watch where you're going?! You could have seriously injured someone back there—"

She stopped immediately when she was met with a familiar pair of wide, golden brown eyes – the sight of which brought a feeling of irritated exasperation on her face.

"—_BYRON! _What the hell – what are you doing here?! What's the big idea?! If you're here about the fact that your bastard of a cousin has been _CHEATING _on me, I reckon a _DISCREET _way of telling me about it would have been much more considerate than this! I can't believe him—"

Byron silenced the rest of her tirade with a single shake of his head, reaching both his hands out and placing them firmly on her shoulders. "_HARRY! _Shut up! You have _GOT _to listen to me! I—it's _HER! _It's a woman! _SHE'S_ been attacking the pureblood males…It's _HER, _Harry! It's _HER!" _

Picking herself up off the floor, Harry stared at him for several seconds in confusion. "B—but…I don't understand what you mean…? Who are you talking about and who is this woman that she's strong enough to attack the likes of an Auror like Neville or an Unspeakable Head like Ashford—"

Byron slapped his hand across his forehead and practically jostled her in his agitation, his golden brown eyes flashing urgently in impatience. "_THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU, HARRY! I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHO SHE IS BUT I KNOW THAT SHE'S A BLOODY UNREGISTERED METAMORPH! I ONLY FOUND OUT NOW! A METAMORPH CAN IMITATE THE APPEARANCE OF ANY WOMAN SHE HAS SEEN AT LEAST ONCE! DON'T YOU GET IT?! SHE'S BEHIND ALL THOSE ATTACKS!" _

He yanked a piece of crumpled up parchment from his robe pockets and shoved it frantically into her face, all the while ignoring the stares they were both beginning to receive from the other worried Malfoys gathered around the large ballroom. When Harry did nothing but stare blankly at it, Byron let out another furious stream of curses and began jostling her form again.

"_EVERY _pureblooded male…Prior to the night of his 'attack' had been with a _WOMAN! NEVILLE _with _LUNA…OSWALD _with _PANSY…_Vincent with one of the CISO secretaries…Blaise with his family friend…_ALL WITH A WOMAN, HARRY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY?!" _

Harry snatched the parchment from his hand and held it up to the light, peering intently at it in growing mortification. Within a couple of seconds, however, she finally glanced back up and met Byron's wide brown eyes over the parchment in her hand – the expression on her face finally beginning to dawn in realization. Byron met her gaze easily, nodding urgently at her in affirmation.

"Do you understand now, Harry?! Where's Draco?! Were you able to find him? Did you get to him in time? Harry, what happened?! Tell me—" He stopped when the crumpled parchment promptly slipped right through Harry's fingers, falling down listlessly onto the cold, marble floor.

"…_I thought she was you!" _

Draco's shouted words suddenly began repeating themselves clearly in her head, causing her to clench her hands into tight, frustrated fists just as she realized the gravity of her mistake.

"Harry…?"

Byron blinked and watched in confusion as his cousin-in-law's eyes slowly began to darken in horror, the blood in her cheeks beginning to drain out of her face. Flicking her wide eyes back up to meet his, Jaimee gasped softly and managed to let out one hoarse, barely audible whisper.

"_Oh good god…"_

Bryon stared right back at her, trying to decipher the aghast look on her face.

"What? What's wrong—"

Even before Byron could finish his sentence, Jaimee had already whirled around and began tearing back through the MMC ballroom as fast as she could – her loud scream echoing loudly above the lively chatter of the ballroom guests and the softly playing jazz music in the background.

_"DRAAAAAAAAAAACO!"_

* * *

_"DRACO! ARE YOU STILL IN THERE?!" _

Harry didn't bother waiting for an answer as she raised her wand and blasted right through the large entrance doors to the MMC penthouse – ducking and raising a hand over face to protect herself from the tiny shards of wood and debris that scattered and showered around the room.

She heard Byron's heavy footsteps thudding down the long hallway behind her but she ignored him, racing through the entrance doors and making her way back through the large penthouse living room. Blasting her way through the locked doors that led to the master bedroom, she stopped for a brief second when she heard Byron's vague shouts calling out to her from a couple of feet away.

"Harry, _WAIT A MINUTE! _Don't just go rushing in there, that's _DANGEROUS—" _

She raised her wand and blasted through the large bedroom double doors anyway, stepping backwards and waiting for a couple more moments for the wood and debris to clear away. Once the smoke from the explosion had cleared, she tensed in anticipation and raced through the doorway.

The scene she found in there, however, nearly made her pounding heart stop beating.

Sprawled out haphazardly onto the otherwise clean, elegant carpeted floor of the room just near the foot of the bed lay Draco's pale, violently convulsing form – the sight of which caused another scream to erupt from Jaimee's lips. His lifeless gray eyes stared up blankly into the ceiling as though they had lost all sense of what was happening around him and several seizures wracked his body – eventually causing the former Slytherin to clench his eyes, wince and begin coughing up blood.

Jaimee raised both her hands up and covered her mouth to stifle more of her horrified sobs – large, anguished tears already beginning to cascade continuously down her pale cheeks.

"_OH GOD! DRACO! OH GOD, NO! PLEASE NO! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!"_

* * *

**A/N: **Ehehehe…I'm sorry but that had to be done. I promise that it's the last cliffhanger of the story though. Estimating right now…I'd say there are a good FIVE chapters left before the story is actually finished. There _will _be an epilogue of course but as of the moment, I'm not sure if that's included in those five chapters or if it will be a separate one all by itself. :D

Unfortunately, the next chapter will probably take me some time as well…As I've mentioned, I'm having a bit of writer's block with this story right now so I can't finish chapters as fast as I normally do. I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, I promise. I fully intend to finish this story. :D

See you guys next time! **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :D**


	16. Past and Present

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Nothing much to say here but enjoy the chapter! A tad bit of drama here…I couldn't resist. :D

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Past and Present  
**

Harry's face was pale and her entire form was trembling violently from she stood outside Draco's hospital room – watching silently as a whole horde of healers surrounded her husband's lifeless figure. She had been waiting for nearly five hours that night – standing like a lost, wide-eyed child just outside of the open hospital doors while at the same time, fighting desperately to keep herself together in the presence of the other Malfoys and her friends.

Although Regina had brought Garrett and Gabriel home with her that night, Sirius had opted to stay with Harry instead and had been standing right beside her since Draco had been rushed into the emergency room of the hospital. Both her sons had been screaming for their father all night when Harry had handed them over to Regina, promising both crying toddlers that everything would be fine.

To be quite honest, she wasn't so sure if she had any credibility to promise them that.

For the past half hour, Harry felt like a complete _zombie _– blinking and staring blankly through the glass windows through Draco's room. Sirius had been doing nothing but offering her comforting pats on her shoulder and encouraging her to drink some water but she barely heard him, keeping her red, teary eyes focused completely on Draco's completely still figure.

The Malfoy Head had already lost consciousness when they had rushed him into the emergency room of St. Mungo's that night and had pretty shown no signs of movement since then. The seizures that had wracked his body had stopped by now and were now replaced by the bruises that were beginning to appear all over his skin – much like Blaise's condition had been the other night.

His chest rose unevenly with shallow, labored breaths – almost as though he was having difficulty breathing – and the monitors behind him indicated the weak beating of his heart. Behind her, Jaimee could hear the hushed sobbing of Narcissa and Genevieve – both of whom had rushed into the hospital the minute they had heard of Draco's condition and had pulled a crying Jaimee into their arms. Lorraine soon joined them and pretty soon, all four women were crying against each other and had pretty much stayed that way until Byron had ushered them all gently to the seats behind them.

Lucius, Lawrence, as well as Reggie, Anton and the rest of the Malfoy sons had rushed in soon after them and now sat talking tensely amongst themselves in a corner near the end of the corridor. Jaimee paid their questions and their attempts at comforting her no attention, however, and for the life of her, she couldn't even hear anything in her head except those last words Draco had said to her.

_"I thought she was you…Harry…Please…You have to believe me! __TRUST ME!__"_

Jaimee felt another single tear slipping from her eyes and rolling slowly down her cheek. A soft sob threatened to escape her lips but she bit her tongue and held it back, blinking her eyes rapidly in a vague attempt to prevent any more of the forming tears to fall from her eyes.

_It's my fault…Good God…It's my fault…It's all my fault…_ She blinked again and sniffed softly, reaching a hand up and hastily wiping the tears from her eyes. _H—he asked me to trust him… I sh—shouldn't have left him in there…B—Byron told me to go find him…I should have— _She shook her head and clenched her hands, wanting nothing more than to pound her fists against her head.

_I should have listened to him, damn it! I saw him there…Th—that woman was on top of him…I overreacted! ARGH! It's my fault! It's all my FUCKING fault!_ Another sharp sob escaped her lips and this time, Sirius heard it – causing her godfather to turn around and inspect her pained features.

"Prongslet—" He began softly but Harry cut him off, whirling around and meeting his consoling gaze with wide, crazed green eyes. She squelched another sob that was threatening to escape her lips and stared desperately at him, tears now beginning to pour down her pale face.

"I—it's all my fault, Sirius! I—it's my fault! I—it's all my damn fault! I—I'm such a screw-up!"

The tears continued to escape her eyes now as Jaimee broke down entirely, burying her face into her hands and collapsing into a fit of soft, harsh sobs. Sirius sighed and pulled her trembling form against him in a tight embrace, allowing his goddaughter to muffle her cries against his chest.

It took a couple more minutes for her to actually lean against him, her sobs echoing clearly in the silence of the white, St. Mungo's corridor. Harry continued to murmur stuttered phrases against him, her words drawing the concern of Ron, Hermione, Ginny and a couple more of her friends nearby.

"I—I've been a h—horrible wife to him…I—I've been a horrible mother…I—I should be the one in there…N—not him, Sirius! N—not him!" Her voice broke off and she began crying again, her shoulders beginning to tremble so violently that Sirius was worried how she was able to breathe.

"Prongslet… Calm down… You're going to hurt yourself like this…You have to calm down." He tried to offer her another glass of water but Harry pushed it away, shaking her head and trying to wipe her tears away. She straightened herself back up and wrapped her arms around herself in self-comfort, walking back over to stand directly in front of the glass window overlooking Draco's room.

Ignoring Sirius calling out softly to her from behind, she raised a single hand and laid it gently on the cold glass plane – watching silently as several more Healers began rushing into the room. Just as Richard Wickham moved to the side, she was finally able to catch a glimpse of her husband's face.

Although his cheeks were deathly pale and he looked as though he was barely able to keep himself awake, Draco had somehow managed to regain consciousness and was now turning his head weakly towards the side window. He winced in pain and flicked his dull gray eyes up, locking them intently onto his wife's teary green eyes through the glass window.

For a moment, Harry felt like her insides were being twisted right out of her and she bit her lip, straining to keep the tears from blurring her eyes. She met his weak gaze easily, somehow managing a shaky smile and pressing her palm up against the glass window again so he could see it.

Then – shoving her hand back into the inner pocket of her robes – she pulled it out again and held it up, pressing it back against the window so Draco could see the sparkling chain dangling from her trembling fingers. At the sight of the beautiful rollercoaster charm necklace, Draco's eyes seemed to soften and one corner of his lips quirked upwards weakly into the ghost of what almost seemed like a smile – the sight of which accomplished nothing but make Jaimee's eyes tear up even more.

Her shaking fingers tightened around the necklace and her face slowly began to crumple before she could stop herself, eventually causing Draco's own gaze to cloud over when he saw her fragile expression. He continued to watch her silently, cringing to himself in pain as he ignored the protests of the Healers around him and forced a hand out to reach toward her form.

Through the glass window, Jaimee didn't realize that Draco actually mouthing her name in an inaudible whisper in an attempt to call for her. Just as stubborn as ever, Draco ignored the protests of the group of Healers circled around him and began to whisper her name out even louder – only to cause more Healers to panic when he began coughing up more blood immediately after.

Harry covered her mouth with both hands to hide the trembling of her bottom lip, watching helplessly as Draco struggled to breathe through all his violent coughing. His strong, normally lean frame looked so strangely fragile against his hospital bed that she almost refused to believe it was him lying there. She shook her head furiously and placed the necklace back into her robe pockets.

_I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…This is my fault…I should be in there…Not you…Not you, Draco._

"Mistress Malfoy…?"

Jaimee immediately froze up and forced herself to turn around slowly, looking up and meeting the older, comforting eyes of Richard Wickham standing right behind her. At the sight of her swollen eyes and the weariness of her face, he offered her a small smile and gestured to the hospital room.

"Your husband is calling for you—" Harry nodded at this but he sighed again and gave her an apologetic grimace. "I'm afraid you only have five minutes, Jaimee…We'll need to put him to sleep soon. He'll lose more blood if we don't. I'm sorry—" He explained gently, looking slightly embarrassed as he spoke to her but Harry nodded again and offered him a weak nod to signify that she understood.

"I—I understand…Th—thank you…W—will the others—?"

Wickham interrupted her firmly by shaking his head again and looking around to offer the rest of Draco's gathered relatives another apologetic glance. "I can only allow _one _visitor to talk to him right now, Jaimee…And I believe he wants to see _you._" He gave her a small, encouraging smile at that – to which Harry winced and shook her head to herself as more tears flooded her eyes.

"I—I…Th—thank you…" Was all she managed to whisper again and before Wickham, Sirius or any of her other friends could say anything; she had turned around and hurried quickly into the hospital room. The other Healers in the room were on their way out when she paved her way in, stopping at the area beside Draco's bed and sitting carefully on the small space at his side.

The minute he saw her, Draco forced his eyes open and tried to smile up at her. Unfortunately, the seemingly simple effort seemed too much for his weakened state and he ended up into another coughing fit again, causing a fresh round of tears to glisten in Jaimee's eyes.

Forcing one of her own smiles at him, Jaimee blinked rapidly to clear her tears away and reached a shaky hand out to touch his cheek, biting back a sob when she felt his cold, clammy skin. Despite her efforts to hide her emotions from him, however, Draco saw through her easily and quirked one corner of his lips upwards into a semblance of a teasing smile in a gesture to comfort her.

"_T—tell me, Potter…How horrible d—does my h—hair look…?" _

At his words, the tears gathering in Jaimee's eyes finally slipped down her cheeks and in spite of herself, a strangled, choked-up laugh escaped her lips. She swiped hastily at them and managed to reward him with a shaky, teary smile that betrayed the turmoil and aching fear raging in her chest.

"W—well…L—let me put it this way instead…Y—you won't win any b—beauty pageants, Malfoy…B—but you'll have to do for me…" She teased tearfully, using the same hand she hand on his cheek to gently brush away the strands of limp blonde hair that had fallen over his gray eyes.

Draco would have smiled at her quip had he the strength but instead, Jaimee settled for the familiar twinkle of amusement in his eyes. When he looked as though he wanted to say something, Jaimee swallowed the lump in her throat and leaned down closer so he could whisper into her ear.

"_Wh—where are th—the t—t—twins—"_ He words ended up into another violent coughing fit that Harry had to bite her lip to keep from crying again, reaching a shaky hand out to wipe the blood that had issued from his lips. She waited until he could breathe more freely again before bending down once more to answer him, leaning closer to place a loving, soothing kiss onto his cheek.

"Th—they're with Regina…E—everyone else is staying here in the hospital tonight…I—I didn't want them to s—spend a night in a p—place l—like this…Th—they're fine, I—I promise…" Her voice broke slightly and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling again as she met his weary eyes.

Draco nodded weakly at her words and made to move his left hand feebly towards hers. When he couldn't seem to do it, however, Harry reached her hand out and placed it tightly over his instead, wrapping her fingers around his cold ones and bringing it up to give each one a soft kiss.

He tried to speak again, causing Harry to shake her head furiously at him. "D—don't talk anymore, Draco…Please. Save your strength for me, okay…? Please—"

"_H—Harry…I—I'm s—sorry—" _

He winced and began coughing again and if anything, his feeble attempt at an apology _now_ did nothing but to induce more tears to gather in her eyes. "Draco, _PLEASE _don't talk anymore…You don't have to apologize for anything! I—it's me who should be saying sorry, okay? Please stop—" Her voice broke off when Draco stared up at her again and continued to speak anyway.

"_Th—the party…P—penthouse…Natasha…I—I th—thought sh—she was you…I th—thought—" _

His paused in the middle of his hoarse whisper to wince and take in a shallow inhale of breath but Harry interrupted him again, shaking her head more frantically and tightening her fingers around his hand. She had long given up on trying to stop the tears from falling now and let them flow freely down her cheeks – trailing all the way down her beautiful face until they fell listlessly to the floor.

"Draco, _don't—"_

"_I w—would never…N—never…N—no one else…J—just you, Harry…" _Draco looked up at her again and stared into her flushed, crying face, his fingers making another weak attempt to squeeze her hand back. Harry barely felt it, however, was straining desperately to see him through her blurred vision, her body trembling so much from her sobs that she could barely find the breath to speak.

"I—I know that now, 'Co…I—I know…I sh—should have known that all a—along…I'm sorry—"

"_No…D—divorce…C—can s—still…fix…th—this—" _Harry understood what he meant but by this time, her restraint over her emotions had given out entirely and she finally collapsed against him – pressing her face gently against his shoulder so she could muffle her soft, heartbroken sobs.

"Th—that was my mistake. I—I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…F—for everything… I—I'm sorry I did this to you…I'm so sorry I wasn't there…That I was _never _there…I—I can _not _do this without you…P—please…I'm so sorry…I d—don't know what e—else to say—" Her voice cracked and she had to take in a couple of breaths to calm herself down, her face flushed entirely and her body trembling against his.

In spite of himself, Draco waited until she pulled away to look back down him before he offered her another teasing, comforting smile. _"I—I'll b—be fine… I—I p—promise… S—silly…O—overemotional…Gryffindork…D—don't c—cry a—anymore…Okay…?" _His words did nothing but spawn off more tears in her eyes but before she forced herself to nod at his words anyway.

"_N—necklace…? H—Harry…Wh—where—" _He stopped when Harry reached down into her robes and pulled it out of her inner pocket, holding it up so that the diamond charm sparkled beautifully against the light. "I—it's here…I—I never got to thank you for it, 'Co…I—it's beautiful…I—I don't—"

"_W—wear it f—for me…"_

Harry blinked and looked down to meet the soft expression in his eyes, watching as Draco's gaze lingered longingly over her face. "Wh—what do you mean, 'Co…? Y—you mean _now—"_

"_W—wear it for m—me…N—never t—take it off…P—promise m—me…?" _He blinked once, took another shallow breath and stared up at her, obviously waiting for her response. Harry wasted no time in obliging his simple request instantly – reaching up to clasp the beautiful diamond necklace around her neck. Sighing, she raised a single hand and wiping hastily at the tears from her puffy red eyes.

"I—I promise…I promise, Co…" She bent down and placed a kiss onto his forehead, resting her chin gently onto his shoulder and closing her eyes. Draco blinked once and used the advantage of her nearness to turn his head very weakly to the side, grazing his lips just barely over her soft cheek.

"_I—I l—love you…" _

Harry blinked a fresh round of incoming tears that began to flood her eyes and nuzzled her cheek gently against his in response, trailing her hand back down and intertwining her fingers with his.

"I—I love you too…"

She tried to pull back to meet his face again but just when it seemed as though Draco wanted to say something else to her, she felt him beginning to shake and jerk violently in her arms – immediately causing a gasp escape her as she pulled away and looked down fearfully at his form.

Draco's features had creased into another pained grimace as another vicious cough began to wrack his frame, forcing him to turn away from her as more blood began to spill from his lips. The hand he had used to touch hers was now trembling very rapidly and this was followed by more seizures beginning to spread throughout his entire body – eventually forcing Jaimee to pull away.

She bit back a scream and stumbled backwards away from him, her feet barely managing to take a few step backwards before she found herself backed up against the far wall right at the end of the cold, empty hospital room. Save for Draco's harsh coughs and the fact that she heard her own heart pounding very loudly and painfully against her chest, Harry began to drown out the rest of the sounds and happenings around her – including the heavy footsteps of the St. Mungo Healers as they began rushing back into the room and screaming loudly at each other in growing alarm.

"_NOTIFY WICKHAM! HE'S GONE INTO ANOTHER SEIZURE! CALL FOR SNAPE! TELL HIM WE NEED HIM TO ADMINISTER THAT VITALITY POTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! HURRY!"_

"_SIR! HE'S LOSING A LOT OF BLOOD! WE HAVE TO PUT HIM BACK TO SLEEP!"_

"_EMERGENCY! I SAID CALL FOR WICKHAM NOW!"_

Harry continued to stare blankly at Draco's convulsing form across the room – oblivious to the fact that several of the Healers had now approached her and were trying to usher her out of the room. Deaf to their pleas, she wrapped her arms around herself and sank down onto the floor until she was hugging her knees – rocking back and forth and hiding her tearful face against her hands.

"_MISTRESS MALFOY, WE NEED YOU TO GO BACK TO THE WAITING ROOM NOW!"_

"_JAIMEE, PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO WAIT OUTSIDE NOW, OKAY? PLEASE—"_

"_YOUR HUSBAND IS GOING TO BE FINE, JAIMEE! YOU HAVE TO WAIT OUTSIDE—"_

Feeling more helpless than she had ever felt in her entire life, Harry was lost to their protests.

Overcome with such a feeling of frustrating feeling of uselessness, self-loathing and utter, bitter-regret, Harry shook her head fiercely and did the only thing she _could _do. She curled up into a small, fragile ball, hid her face behind her hands and collapsed into a fit of terrified, heartbroken sobs.

* * *

_I can't believe this…First Blaise and now Draco…I don't know WHAT is going on anymore!_

Anton let out a deep, agitated sigh and shoved his hands into the side pocket of his robes, his footsteps echoing loudly along the long, deserted corridor of St. Mungo's later that same night. He had just come back from talking with several Healers about Draco's condition and was now making his way back towards the waiting area near his cousin's room with a grim expression on his face.

As he neared the brightly-lit waiting room, he could already make out several of his family's worried voices – as well as Ginny's familiar voice as she spoke with Anton's grandmother in hushed whispers. In spite of himself, Anton felt his lips tugging upwards into a reluctant smile of amusement.

_At least…If anything…This has been bringing the entire family closer._

He was just about to turn the next corner towards them when a familiar, seductive drawl suddenly interrupted his thoughts, bringing his attention to the other end of the narrow hallway. As soon as he caught sight of the stunningly attractive brunette leaning against the wall a couple of feet away from him, however, his eyes immediately hardened and an unwelcoming sneer crossed his face.

"Sophie…? Is that you…? What are you doing here?"

He made particularly sure that he had spoken in a low whisper so as not to be heard by the rest of the Malfoys nearby, pausing after he had spoken to turn back around and check if someone had heard him. Once he was certain that his family was still a couple of feet away and weren't likely to see him from beyond the corner of the hallway, he turned to face Sophie's flirtatious smile again.

Her smile widened and she merely giggled at him, taking a few steps forward and wrapping her slim arms coyly around his neck. "Aw…Is zat any way to greet your lady, darling…? I 'ave meesed you so much zeese past few weeks…What 'ave you been doing zat you've been so busy?" She pouted up at him and reached up to place a kiss onto his lips, unaware of the way Anton tensed against her.

He held back a frustrated growl and placed both his hands onto her shoulders, gently trying to push her away from his body. "Sophie…I'm sorry, darling… But I hardly think that this is the proper time and place to do this right now…My entire _family _is just right around the corner and I'm here because my older cousin, Draco, just caught the disease. I really would appreciate it if—"

To his surprise, Sophie's carefully made-up blue eyes suddenly widened and a gasp of concern escaped her lips – causing Anton's eyebrows to rise up in disbelief. Just as he thought that she was actually concerned about what he had said, her next words immediately forced his thought away.

"Oh _no! _Oh dear…Zat is 'orrible, darling! I can _not _believe it…I am so sorry! It ees such a shame really…And your cousin Draco was always so rich and 'andsome too…" She feigned a sob, the evident falsity of her saccharine voice causing Anton's eyes to harden even more in spiteful anger.

"Oh…_Really?! _Is that all you can _THINK _about, Sophie?! The fact that he's _rich _and _handsome?!_ What kind of woman are you?! What are you even doing here?! Are you here to see me?!" He snapped, his hands tightening on her shoulders and shoving her away in growing impatience.

When she heard his words, Sophie couldn't help sighing dramatically and giving him another pout – moving towards him again so she could link her arms around his instead. "Of course not, my love…I am 'ere because my 'usband 'as also caught the disease…Just last week. I'm terribly worried about 'eem so I sometimes stay the night." She told him, earning herself another sneer from Anton.

"Oh I'm _sure_ you're worried about him…Where is he anyway? Is he still unconscious? If he is, does he know that you're flirting with me right now?" He narrowed his eyes at her and waited for her to answer him but instead, Sophie smiled again and began tugging him backwards with her arm.

"'e is here…In zis hospital room…Come 'ere and I'll introduce you to 'im."

Before Anton could even make a move to struggle or protest against her, Sophie had tugged him backwards into the open hospital room behind them and practically shoved him up against the wall – throwing herself over his body and catching his lips in hers with a heated, passionate kiss.

Thoroughly surprised at the unexpected maneuver, Anton had to blink for several seconds as though to process his thoughts. Sophie seemed not to notice that he wasn't kissing her back and continued her ministrations, reaching her hands up and eventually linking them around his neck. As she did this, Anton grimaced and managed to open his eyes long enough to stare over her shoulder – his blue orbs immediately widening in utter mortification when he caught sight of the pale, unconscious form of Sophie's husband laid out on the hospital bed several feet in front of them.

For several shocked moments, Anton stared blankly at him in dismay – his hands going up over Sophie's curvaceous form again and resting just below her shoulders. Then, shutting his eyes and letting out one single, disgusted grimace, he let out a harsh grunt and shoved her roughly off his form – growling loudly and watching as she stumbled backwards a few steps from his strength.

"_Darling?! _What ees ze matter?! What ees wrong?!"

When she blinked several times in disbelief and gaped up at him in question, Anton clenched his jaw and gave her a disdainful sneer, shaking his head at her unbelievable audacity. "I can _NOT _believe you, Sophie! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?! You're…You're _SICK!" _

He didn't bother waiting for her to respond as he whirled around and made to storm out of the hospital room – only to be stopped by Sophie clutching onto his arm again from behind. She forced him to turn back around and glared up at him, her long-lashed eyes flashing angrily in slight confusion.

"What are you talking about, Anton…?! What ees wrong with you?! 'ave I done something—"

Anton gave single derisive scoff and shoved her off him again, shaking his head and dusting off the part of his arm where she had touched him. Sophie gave a surprised shriek and stumbled backwards onto the floor, cursing and scowling angrily as she looked back up and met his sneer.

"You…_You JERK—"_

"I can _not _believe your audacity…Your husband is _RIGHT THERE…_In _COMATOSE _and you drag me in here to try and _seduce _me?! You insensitive, good-for-nothing, shallow _bitch!_" Anton shook his head to himself again and gave her one last glare, his eyes narrowed into tiny, angry slits.

Sophie gaped and looked as though she was about to answer him but at this point, Anton couldn't bear looking at her face anymore. He gave her one last snide glare before whirling around and stalking right back out of the room, his terse footsteps loud and heavy along the silent hallway.

_WOMEN! Disgusting…Shallow…Materialistic bitches…I want nothing more to do with them! _He thought angrily to himself as he walked away, ignoring Sophie's shrill protests behind him. He finally managed to reach the end of the hallway and rounded the corner into the waiting room, walking in just in time to see both Ginny and Genevieve looking up and meeting his eyes across the room.

As soon as she caught sight of him, Ginny's face lit up beautifully and she jumped up from her seat, walking slowly towards him. Anton blinked once and took a step backwards away from her, clenching his jaw tightly as he tried to prevent his previous irritation from showing on his face.

Unfortunately enough, she seemed not to notice his agitated expression and offered him a small smile as she reached him, reaching into the pocket of her bag in obvious search of something.

Anton forced himself to nod back stiffly at her, shoving his hands back into his robe pockets.

"Look…Gin…I'm going to take off for now. I have several things I have to take care of back at the office…I'll be back tomorrow morning to check up on Draco. In the meantime, maybe you should stay with grandmother or if you want, you could go home with me right now to rest—" He stopped when Ginny interrupted him with a small, uncertain smile – shaking her head at his tense words.

"Anton…Wait…Before you say anything else, I just want—"

Before Ginny even had a chance to finish her sentence Anton's hold over his bottled-up anger finally snapped altogether and he suddenly exploded out at her, his harsh shouts drawing the surprised attention of all the other Malfoys gathered around the large hospital waiting room.

"_WHAT?! _What the _HELL _do you want _NOW_, _WOMAN?! _I'm _EXHAUSTED _and quite frankly, I am not in the _MOOD _to deal with your bloody whims right now okay?! If I could just—" He paused right in the middle of his tirade and looked up when he heard her soft gasp, immediately regretting his words soon after when he saw the shocked and offended expression on Ginny's pale face.

_Oh shit…Damn it…Is she going to start crying now? Ugh…Women…What the hell… _Anton thought irritably to himself, arching an eyebrow coldly at her and waiting impatiently for her to speak.

"I—I'm sorry…I w—was just…I w—wanted to give you this…" Ginny raised her trembling hand up and promptly handed him the light blue material cradled between her fingers – waiting awkwardly as Anton froze and took it carefully from her, holding it up against the light to inspect what it was.

"What's this—"

Ginny let out another forced laugh and took a hasty step away from him, trying – and pretty much failing – to hide the hurt look in her bright blue eyes. "I—it's a s—scarf…I—I made it myself…Your grandmother has been teaching me how to knit this past week and w—well…th—this was the first time I actually managed to make s—something halfway d—decent…I—I'm sorry…I have to—"

Anton's eyes instantly clouded over in guilt the moment she said this and he looked back up to stare uncertainly into her face. His fingers tightened gently around the scarf in his hands. "O—oh…G—Gin…I—I uhm…I—I'm sorry…I—thank you…I d—didn't mean to snap at you for a minute there…I—"

Shaking her head frantically at his poor attempt at an apology, Ginny forced out another laugh and pretended to wave his words away. "O—oh don't worry about it, Anton…I—I uh…I realize you're tired and I p—probably should leave you alone now…I'm sorry the scarf is so poorly done…I—I should probably get going now…I uh…I'm…" She didn't bother finishing the rest of her sentence as she whirled around and quickly stormed out of the room – ignoring Anton's protests as he called after her.

"Ginny…_WAIT! I_…I…_Thank you… _I'm…_sorry…_"

He let the rest of his words trail off into an inaudible whisper, flicking his eyes down to inspect the modestly made scarf in his hand. Noting the skillfully-made knots and the fact that Ginny had particularly chosen his favorite color, Anton's eyes softened with an unfamiliar feeling of tenderness.

_I…I don't really understand that woman…Why did she even bother…?_

Sighing and slinking backwards to collapse down onto the nearby chair behind him, he flicked his weary blue eyes up and managed to meet his grandmother's fiercely admonishing expression across the room – the sight of which causing the Malfoy son to wince and offer her a weak, fond smile.

_I know grandmother…I know…You don't have to tell me…It's not everyday we meet an actual woman who sees us as more than a pretty face and a bank account…_He lowered his gaze back down to the scarf in his hands, his pale fingers trailing gently and caressingly over the soft, blue fabric.

_Unfortunately…That's just the kind of woman I'm particularly afraid of._

* * *

Taking a long sip from the cup of coffee balanced in his hand, Sirius looked up just as his goddaughter walked back into the waiting room that night, drawing the attention of all the other occupants around them. Noting the way she had wrapped her arms around her shivering body, Sirius sighed and stood back up – shrugging his jacket off himself and wrapping it around her in comfort.

Harry didn't say anything and allowed Sirius to usher her down onto the seat beside him, offering her the other cup of coffee in his hands. Although she took it gratefully and held it in her hands, her blank green eyes continued to stare off blankly at the white wall in front of them in thought.

Sirius watched the expression on her face carefully, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the definite ashen color of her cheeks. "How is he…?" He asked uncertainly, waiting patiently as Harry managed a weak smile at him and nodded, lowering her eyes down to the coffee in her hands.

"H—he's better… Snape just injected about two batches of vitality potion into him to replace all the blood he's lost… T—the healers just put him to sleep now…T—the rest of the Malfoys a—are in the room now to w—watch over him…" She explained in a soft whisper, stroking the hot cup in her hands.

Sirius nodded in understanding but continued to peer intently at her face. "I see…Why aren't _you _in there…?" He asked her gently, pausing for several minutes as Ron got up from the other side of the waiting room and took the seat beside Harry, slinging a comforting arm over her shoulders.

Harry managed another weak smile at this and returned Ron's concerned look with a similar nod. She took a deep breath and finally raised the cup of coffee to her lips, taking a small sip before she answered Sirius' question. "I—I just…I—I needed to get away…I—I c—can't stand being in there…Looking at him…S—seeing him in such a s—state…I—it h—hurts to see him like that…" She let her voice trail off and shook her head again, fighting to keep the emotions from showing in her voice.

Instead, she looked up and turned to Ron – feigning another smile at her redheaded best friend. "Wh—where's Hermione, Ron…? I h—haven't seen her since this morning—" Ron shook his head and answered her with a slight grimace, reaching over to take a magazine from the nearby table.

"She went back to Blaise's room, Harry…She's probably as much of a mess as you are right now. Perhaps worse…" At this, he took one look at her aghast features and winced. "Since Lorraine and the rest of the Malfoys are in the room with Draco right now… Maybe you should consider going home and getting some rest tonight, mate. You look really horrible—" He was cut off when Harry's eyes flashed and she shook her head fiercely at him again, her hands clenching into tight fists.

"I'm not going _ANYWHERE, _Ron! You think I _CARE _about how I look right now?!" She growled back, the snappiness of her voice causing both Ron and Sirius to wince to themselves. Before either of them could say anything, she continued, slamming her cup of coffee down onto the table.

"Don't either of you two _GET IT?! _This is _MY FAULT! _It's _MY FAULT!" _She clenched her teeth and ran a frustrated hand through her mane of tangled black hair. "I should have been _THERE, DAMN IT! _I was right _THERE _and I _SAW HIM _before he got attacked! I should have been able to _DO _something! It's _MY FAULT _he's in there right now! It's all my _GODDAMN FAULT!" _She slammed her fist against the arm rest of her chair, barely registering the pain that soon plagued her hand.

While Ron winced at her words and looked uncertainly at her, Sirius clenched his jaw and glared at her, reaching his own hand out and grabbing hers in mid-air when it looked as though she was going to slam it down against the chair again. The minute he had done this, he watched as Harry immediately froze and glared right back at him through angry, slightly blurry green eyes.

"Harry, _STOP IT—"_

"I'm such a screw up! I don't know _HOW_ I'm going to make things right anymore, Sirius! How could I have been so stupid—" She stopped when Sirius growled and slammed his own fist against the nearby table in front of them, shaking his head at all her insistent self-mockery of herself.

"So you've made a lot of mistakes early in your marriage, Harry! _WHO HASN'T? _You're hardly perfect and neither is Draco…You're both _SO YOUNG, SO HOT-TEMPERED...SO STUBBORN!_ It's only _natural _you'd have a problems every so often! Get over it! Move on! That's what marriage is about!"

Harry glared at him, her eyes flashing dangerously and her jaw clenching in indignation. "A _FEW _problems?! I've practically _FUCKED UP _my marriage, Sirius! I nearly got my husband killed—"

"That was _NOT _your fault—"

"—my own children _HATE _me! I know _NOTHING _about being a parent _OR _a mother—"

"You hardly had _ANYBODY _to learn from! You grew up with the Dursleys screaming at you for every single mistake, Harry! You have _got _to stop blaming yourself for everything! That's the whole problem with you! You think _EVERYTHING _is all up to you and _EVERYTHING _is your responsibility!"

Harry blinked and looked at him in confusion but Sirius continued on shouting anyway.

"You keep _FORGETTING _that you do _NOT _live your life for yourself anymore! I already told you! You have your own _FAMILY _now, Harry! You have people all around you who _LOVE _you and _CARE _about you and want to help you! You keep forgetting that and keep accepting all those damn responsibilities onto _YOURSELF _without asking for help! You're _NOT _invincible, Harry! Far from it!"

Unable to do anything else, Harry continued to stare at him in stunned realization, blinking away the rapidly forming tears in her eyes. "S—Sirius, I—I d—don't understand what you—"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you _ALL ALONG_, you stubborn prick!You continue to live your life as though nothing has changed! As though you're still _ALONE, _Harry! Well you're _NOT,_ okay? One of these days…You're going to have to wake up and realize that we're… _RIGHT HERE_! We want to help you…We love you! You're not alone anymore, Prongslet…Do you understand that now?!"

Harry swallowed the forming lump in her throat and nodded slowly, a look of regret and understanding finally dawning in her bright green eyes. "I—I'm sorry, Paddy…B—but I just…I was always scared of l—letting people into my life…Th—they either always got h—hurt or k—killed or—"

Ron let out an amused laugh when he saw her expression and reached over to ruffle her long hair affectionately. "Amen to that, mate…Merlin knows the kind of death-defying adventures you got me and Hermione into from the moment we met in first year. Well at least school became more exciting because of you." He teased and in spite of himself, Harry had to smile weakly at his quip.

"Prick—"

Sirius also grinned and reached over to give her an affectionate tap on the cheek. "Hey…Don't forget… If it wasn't for those crazy, death-defying adventures…I probably would have ended up making out with a dementor." He pretended to shudder at this and if anything, this caused both Harry and Ron to end up laughing softly – both former Gryffindors shaking their head at the memory.

Ron turned and followed this comment up with another snigger, reaching back up and slinging an arm around her shoulders again. "And _don't forget, _mate…If it wasn't for all our adventures together…We never would have gotten to see Draco Malfoy turning into the incredible bouncing ferret." This time, Harry laughed loudly ­–her eyes twinkling with mirth for the first time in months.

Sirius smiled when he saw this and reached over to place a hand over hers, giving her smaller fingers a firm, comforting squeeze. When Harry finally stopped laughing long enough meet his soft, encouraging gaze, he gave her a pointed, reassuring look. "You see…? You can't live your life alone, idiot. You realize how stupid you've been acting lately by taking everything into yourself, right?"

Harry sighed and the smile on her face disappeared again – only to be replaced by a small frown. "Th—that's just it, Sirius…How can I even _hope _to start over now? Draco has _every _right to hate me…I've been such a horrible _wife _and _mother _that I don't even know where to begin—"

As though having lost patience with her altogether, Sirius finally let out what sounded like a frustrated growl and raised a hand – using it to whack her hard upside the head. Thoroughly shocked at the unexpected move, Harry stumbled forward and promptly let out a sharp curse of pain – whirling around moments later and shooting her so-called godfather a dangerous glare over her shoulder.

_"OW! BLOODY HELL, SIRIUS! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME WAS THAT FOR?!" _

She grumbled angrily and rubbed at the forming bruise behind her head. Ron turned away from them to bite back a round of sniggers threatening to erupt from him while Sirius just smirked at her and shook his head, whacking his fuming goddaughter again with a rolled up newspaper.

"_DAMN IT! BUGGER OFF, SIRIUS—"_

Sirius glared pointedly at her and gave her a warning glare. "I don't know about you, Harry… But your father has always been such a whiny git himself. These were kind of the few moments I had to punch his lights out to knock sense into the silly prick and I'm going to do the same with you!"

When Sirius made another move to hit her upside the head again, Harry gaped stupidly at him and ducked again – inadvertently causing Sirius' fist to collide with Ron instead. At the harsh impact of the marauder's hand against Ron's jaw, Harry cringed to herself and bit back a snort of laughter when the redhead let out a single grunt of pain and ended up stumbling backwards onto the hospital floor.

Turning back around to face Sirius' infectious grin, Harry continued to gape at him as though he were insane and shot him a furious glare. "Are you _CRAZY?! _I'm a _WOMAN_ now; you can't just go hitting me like that! It bloody hurts now—" She ducked when Sirius aimed another newspaper at her again and in spite of herself, she began laughing and fighting his efforts away to fend him off.

_"DAMN IT, SIRIUS—"_

"So you made a few mistakes along the way…Quit whining like your annoying father, get your lazy arse up! Just…_DO SOMETHING _about your mistakes, Harry James Potter! You've done nothing but whine like a girl this entire year. Get up and be a man again." He looked up and let her see the grim, pointed expression in his gray eyes – the sight of which finally allowed Harry to understand him.

"I—I _understand, _Sirius…I—I realize I've been a jerk—" She stopped when Ron let out a loud groan of pain from the floor at their feet and got up, rubbing the forming bruise on his head with a scowl. "Bloody hell, Sirius! That _HURT! _I can't believe you _HIT _me! I ought to pop you one right now!"

To his surprise, his poorly formed threat accomplished nothing but causing Harry and Sirius to blink, look at each other and end up laughing again. Whilst Ron stared up at them in bewildered confusion for several seconds, Harry finally leaned forward and pulled her godfather into a tight hug – her muscles sagging with exhaustion but the tension and guilt on her face finally fading away.

"Thank you, Paddy…"

Sirius chuckled and answered her by ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss on her forehead. "You know, kiddo…As much as you look so different now…You're _still _the same stubborn-headed, scruffy-haired kid I met back then when you were at your third year at Hogwarts." He teased.

Harry scowled and was about to retort when a low voice suddenly spoke up behind her.

_"Ahem… If I may have a private word with my granddaughter-in-law for a couple of minutes…_"

Ron and Sirius both stiffened and looked up over Harry's shoulder, glancing awkwardly at the proud, intimidating figure of Lawrence Malfoy just as the man strode out of Draco's hospital room. Tensing at his familiar drawl and following her godfather's eyes up, Harry froze for a split second before wincing to herself and whirling around frantically – nearly falling off her chair in her haste.

"L—Lawrence! I—I w—was just…O—of course. E—excuse me, Sirius…Ron…I'll be right back." Pale with nervousness at the older Malfoy's nod at her, Harry swallowed the dry lump in her throat and slowly followed him – glancing back and shooting Ron and Sirius a grimace to indicate her apology.

They both nodded back at her and gave her a sympathetic look, watching as Lawrence led the young Malfoy Mistress to the far corner of the waiting room. As soon as Lawrence had ascertained that they were alone and away from the curious ears of the other hospital guests around them, he finally turned around and met Harry's nervous eyes again, raising an eyebrow and giving her a small smirk.

"Calm yourself and settle down, young Jaimee…I am not here to chastise you for anything. I merely have something important I would like to give you." He told her softly, his smirk growing a bit when he noticed the way she was fidgeting like a child in her place. At his simple words, Harry seemed to relax instantly and let out a breath of relief, nodding and looking up to meet his silver eyes.

"O—of course, L—Lawrence…Wh—what can I do for you? I r—realize I haven't been around much f—for the family lately but I promise th—that all that's going to change and I—" She stopped talking altogether when Lawrence raised up a hand to silence her, shaking his head at her words.

"You will know your place in the family and keep _quiet _until an elder Malfoy addresses you first, Jaimee. Do not be _rude…_Surely after five years in this family; you should know that by now?"

If anything, Jaimee's cheeks colored further at his sarcastic tone and she bit her lip nervously, nodding frantically and bowing her head down in apology. "O—of course, Lawrence! I a—apologize for my rudeness, i—it won't happen again! I'm just a little s—stressed out right now and I'm nervous —"

_"Silence!" _

Jaime winced again and cringed to herself in utter embarrassment, inwardly screaming at herself in her head for her own stupid rambling. Had she looked up into Lawrence's face, however, she would have noticed the way that Lawrence was fighting desperately to hide his fond amusement at her.

_What the hell…?! I'm so bloody horrible at this! Why did I ever think I could learn to fit into this family?! I'm such a clumsy idiot who can't do anything right anymore— _She shook her head and tried to drown her own thoughts away, sighing and forcing herself to glance up at him again.

The minute she saw the way that the corner of his lips was tugging upwards into a smirk of amusement at her, however, she blinked and stared openly at him in confusion. _Is he…Laughing at me?! Does he think this is all amusing?! Scaring the hell out of me like this when I'm in this state?!_

Ignoring her glare at him, Lawrence let out a soft chuckle again and reached into the inner pocket of his robes – pulling out what looked like a long, slightly wrinkled up envelope. When she merely stared at it in query, he smirked and held it out to her, waiting until she took it from his hand.

"U—uhm…I don't understand—"

Lawrence ignored her question and gestured briefly to the envelope in her hand. "My wife wrote that letter for me about… thirty or so years ago…Back when _I _was young…reckless…and stupid. In other words, back when _I _was still the Head of this family." He explained slowly and despite the awkward tension plaguing her, Harry couldn't prevent a weak laugh from escaping her at his quip.

He continued speaking anyway and let his eyes linger on the envelope in her hands, one of his eyebrows arching up in deep thought. "…Like any other married couple…Genevieve and I had our own…_problems…_back then…And this was the letter she wrote to me the night I made the biggest…_stupidest _mistake of my life." He paused and turned his eyes up to meet hers, shocking Harry completely into stunned silence when she caught a glimpse of the softness in his normally cold eyes.

"As the current Mistress of this family, I want you to read it, Jaimee…Just like I asked the previous generation of Malfoy wives to read it back then…Just like I want _every_ succeeding wife of _any _son of this family to read it thereafter." He fell silent after he said this and just stared into her eyes, watching as her green orbs began to brighten slowly in genuine amazement and understanding.

"I—I…Th—thank you—"

He shook his head and cut her off abruptly, breaking their locked gazes and answering her with a single, mocking sneer. "Under no circumstances…Must this effort trace itself back to _me…_Do _NOT_ tell Genevieve either. Please give it to young Ginevra once you're done…Is this clear, Jaimee?"

Unable to prevent a knowing smile from breaking out onto her face, Jaimee managed another weak nod and smiled at him in newfound, unspoken respect. "I understand…_Grandfather." _

Lawrence merely nodded curtly at her words and before she could say anything else to thank him again, the older Malfoy aristocrat had already turned around and stalked back off towards Draco's hospital room once more – leaving Harry staring after his retreating back in thoughtful silence.

Then, ignoring both Sirius and Ron's questioning looks at her from across the waiting room, Harry held the slightly aged letter up against the light and unfolded it slowly – taking great care such that she didn't rip or damage the yellowing parchment. Then, taking a deep breath, she began to read.

* * *

_Lawrence, _

_I know you're probably looking all over England for me as I'm writing this and I can assure you…Until I'm ready to face you and talk about everything that's happened lately, you won't find me. At least…Until I'm ready enough to want to talk to you. Please stop harassing my friends and my family members for my whereabouts. I promise you that I'm perfectly safe and well taken care of._

_Actually…The reason I'm writing this letter to you right now isn't to talk to you about what I saw in your office that night…Nor is it about the fact that you've been so cold and distant with me in our marriage lately…Especially whenever you'd be so involved in your work that you'd forget all about me or your family. The reason I'm writing to you right now…Is actually to tell you something that I've been meaning to for quite some time. I'm sorry I never got the chance to say it until now._

_I'm pregnant, Larry. I'm pregnant with our second child. I know that given everything that's happened and the state of our relationship right now, a child may not necessarily be the best option at the moment but if anything, I'm taking him as a blessing now more than ever. Yes, you heard right. You have another son, Larry…I'm planning to name him Louis after my grandfather…I hope that's okay. _

_Lucius is with me right now and I promise you that I'm taking good care of him. He misses you terribly but I assured him that I'd let him see you again very soon…I'm not going to take your son away from you, Larry. I know how much you love him despite how busy you've been all these years. _

_There's so much more I wish I could say to you right now…But I fear that whatever I put in writing may not capture all the mixed feelings I wish to convey. So I'll try to begin with the most important one of all… I still love you. Perhaps so much more now than the day we first got married. That's never changed and I can assure you that it never will…No matter how many mistakes we both may make in the future as we continue living together and living with each other's imperfections. _

_I don't hate you and before you make any other assumptions; I want you to know that I already forgive you for what I saw that night. I hadn't really meant to visit you in your office and to be quite honest, things would have been a lot less painful for me if I didn't have to live with the experience of catching you in bed with that horrible woman. I don't know who she is and I'd rather NOT know, Larry…I won't even ask you anymore who she was to you or how you met her. _

_In fact, I don't want to know about anything else that happened that night and I'm going to cast it aside in the very back of my mind as though it never even happened. I don't want to remember seeing you with her…You kissing her…You holding her in your arms and making love to her the same way you always did with me. I don't want to remember running out of your office in tears… I don't want to remember you running after me out in the pouring rain or even the harsh, hurtful words we screamed at each other as I packed my bags and stormed out of the manor that cold night. _

_I don't want to remember anything about what I said or what I saw and I never want you to talk about it again – nor will I ever even mention it to you, your sons or even your grandsons in the future. I don't need an explanation about why you did what you did, Larry…Because I doubt I will ever understand the reasons behind your hurtful actions or why you've been acting the way you have. _

_The day I married you and accepted the responsibility of being your wife, I took it upon myself to love you exactly as you are – whether or not we may not always see eye to eye. Marriage, especially in such an elite society as ours, is not some magical fairytale ending in which people can expect everything to be all bliss and happiness everyday of their lives. It is, first and foremost, a deep and meaningful commitment to share your life and your entire being with another separate and very different human being. It is a heavy responsibility and a decision…I finally understand that now. _

_There is no such thing as a perfect marriage. _

_It's all about making things work. It's all about compromise. It's all about knowing the other person's faults and loving the other as he or she is whether or not circumstances, problems, or even reason may dictate to you otherwise. So…Against all my better judgment…and all those tears I cried for you that night…I forgive you. Not because I have to…But because I choose to….Because I love you. _

_Sometimes…Marriage really is both that simple and that complicated._

_There's nothing else that needs to be said between us. I know that you still love me, Larry…And I know that you're aware of your mistake. I only hope you've learned from it as well and that I can eventually learn to trust you again in the future. I still want to make this work with you. _

_I know we can. _

_I promise that I'll come back home as soon as I'm ready to see you again. _

_Love, Genevieve_

_

* * *

_

Blinking back the tears of amazement that were gathering in her eyes, Jaimee's lips tugged upwards into a small fond smile as she slowly set the letter in her hands back down, folding it up and placing it back into its small envelope. Taking a quick glance around her, she was only vaguely aware of the fact that several Unspeakable agents had begun to enter the room around her. She continued to stare off into empty space instead – Genevieve's beautiful words still echoing clearly in her head.

_There is no such thing as a perfect marriage…It's all about making things work… _She smiled slowly to herself again and slowly slipped the envelope into the pocket of her robes. _Lawrence…Was never the perfect Malfoy Head after all…He…Actually cheated on his wife…He actually cheated on Genevieve…And she…She forgave him…I don't know how…But she actually forgave him…_ She blinked several times and glanced up in the direction of the door leading to Draco's hospital room.

_That's why he raised his sons and grandsons with such tight upbringing…It's because he learned from his own mistakes…I never knew that…_ Despite herself, a newfound feeling of respect for the former Malfoy Head began welling up in her chest – causing her to shake her head in amazement.

_These Malfoys…They never cease to amaze me every damn time…Actually makes me proud to be a part of this family. _Harry thought to herself in a mixture helpless amusement and admiration, finally managing a weak chuckle as she reached up and wiped at the tears from her eyes again.

"Harry!"

Shaking her head several times to clear her thoughts away, Harry looked up sharply just as Byron, Spencer, and a few other Unspeakable agents entered the waiting room and began heading towards her, stacks of papers in their hands. As soon as they had crowded around her form, it was Byron who began to speak first, guiding her down to sit onto the row of waiting chairs behind them.

"Harry…Did you manage to ask Draco who his attacker was before he collapsed? I mean… We know now that this Natasha is a metamorph but I'm certain there's someone else working with her. We've informed The Minister of our recent developments and he wants the _ENTIRE_ Auror and Unspeakable departments to convene tonight to formulate a plan of action. We need answers _NOW." _He told her, his words instantly igniting a spark of indignant, frustrated anger from within her eyes.

"_CONVENE?! _Is he fucking _NUTTERS?! _We have to move _NOW_, Byron…" She coughed to clear the shakiness from her voice and stood back up, yanking out a horde of parchments from her pockets and slamming them down onto the nearby coffee table so the rest of the Unspeakables could see them.

"I spoke to Wickham awhile ago...He told me that he scanned Draco's memory and that it was already tampered with. There was _NOTHING _that could give us an indication of who his attacker was. We have to move _NOW _before—" Nicholas cut her off by shaking his head and giving her a fierce glare.

"We can't afford to be so goddamn reckless, Potter! I'm sure your husband has a good _two _or _three _days before he falls into comatose. We have to do as the Minister says and convene with the other departments to formulate a plan of action. You _KNOW _that's the proper thing to do—"

"_DRACO DOESN'T HAVE TWO TO THREE DAYS! HE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE ONE!" _Harry practically exploded at him, her angry voice slicing right through his words and causing the rest of the Unspeakable agents around them to take a step backwards in alarm. At the sight of the familiar fires in the Malfoy Mistress' eyes, Nicholas relented and fell silent, listening intently to her next words.

Clenching her teeth in an effort to quell her anger, she pointed sharply to the parchments laid out in front of her again and drew their attention to one particular symbol. "There! Do you see that symbol? I came upon it in the course of my research tonight! It's the symbol of the _FOURTH _full moon! It's indicates the exact _TIME _that the ceremony of Magical Infusions is to be performed." She stopped but would have followed this up had Byron not second-guessed her next words anyway.

Her cousin-in-law snatched the parchment up from the table, holding it closer to his face so he could read it. The minute he saw what she meant, however, he paled and flicked panicked brown eyes back up to Nicholas' confused, questioning gaze. "Bloody hell…She's right, Nick! The fourth full moon is _TONIGHT…_We have to do something right now!" He blurted out in panic but even at his words, Nicholas shook his head again and peered down to read through Harry's research once more.

"Slow down…We have to talk about this, you two! We don't even know how this ceremony is performed or how to stop it! There are _HUNDREDS _of those ceremonial sites scattered all over the bloody world, how do we know which one our perpetuator is planning to use?" He asked but Spencer shook his head and answered Nicholas' question for him, holding up a piece of paper in his hands.

"I believe _I _would have the answer to that, Ambleton…Look here…" He laid the paper down onto the table again so the other Unspeakables could see it. "There has been recent irregular magical activity in _one _particular ceremonial site in Egypt just north of here. It's the same site you guys dug up a couple of weeks ago." He told them with a quirky grin – to which Harry responded to with a nod.

"That makes sense…Good work, Spence! About the ceremony itself…I only know the basics…Just as the full moon appears in the sky, the person performing the ceremony simply shouts out a series of weird, ancient incantations. After that…For the entire duration the full moon remains in the sky, all of the magical blood he collected will magically infuse itself into some ancient artifact…Once the moon is gone and the blood has been infused successfully into the magical artifact, all the purebloods will die." Harry's voice shook slightly near the end of her sentence and she took one glance at her watch, wincing when she literally felt as though precious time was ticking away.

The rest of the Unspeakables around her nodded in understanding. "How much time do we have left before the full moon appears?" One of the older Unspeakables asked, waiting patiently as Harry checked her watch again before answering. "Barely an hour…" She reached down and grabbed another piece of parchment again, holding it up against the light to explain some more.

"Now…The reason the purebloods are so weak _now _is that in preparing for tonight's ceremony, the perpetuator uses all the blood samples he's collected thus far and stores it in the chalice used for the ceremony. This allows him to access some of the purebloods' magic despite not having performed the actual ceremony yet…Until it's infused, the blood _HAS_ to remain in that chalice. If at least _ONE _drop of it spills…The ceremony is impossible. That means—" She finally looked up and met all their grim expressions, a fierce, similar look of determination in her flashing green eyes.

"So you mean…This creep is _ALREADY _leeching off their magic? What kind of sick bastard—"

Byron cut off the rest of Spencer's enraged shout and answered Harry with a triumphant smirk. "That _MEANS_…We get our hands on that chalice and spill all that blood, we stop the ceremony!" He concluded for her and if anything, his words caused the gleam in Harry's eyes to brighten even more.

"_Precisely_."

She ignored the wary looks of the other Unspeakables around them and began gathering her research back into her arms, folding them back up and handing them over to Nicholas.

"Nicholas…Since Minister Fudge so _ANNOYINGLY _insists that the Unspeakables and Aurors convene tonight to discuss certain matters…I want you to take these and explain everything to them. Tell them _EVERYTHING _we've discovered so far. The rest of you come with me—"

Nicholas took the offered parchments from her hands but gave her a slightly reluctant look.

"B—but…I don't understand, Harry. What are you going to do? You _CAN'T _issue out a sudden order to go rushing into Egypt _NOW_, the Ministry won't give you the proper authorization papers to do so! _EVERY AUROR _and _UNSPEAKABLE _agent is required to convene with the Minister _TONIGHT! _You're being utterly and _COMPLETELY _reckless, Potter! If you think we're just going to go storming in there without forming a plan of action and coordinating with the others, you're crazy! We'll all die_—"_

Harry narrowed her eyes and scoffed at him, shoving the folders he held into his face. _"SCREW _the Minister, Ambleton! We can't afford to waste any more fucking time talking like this when we _CLEARLY _have to get moving before—" Byron cut her off by placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Ambleton is right, Harry…We can't afford to go storming in there when we clearly aren't aware of all the details or what we're up against. Our safest bet is to get to the Ministry as fast as we can…Inform the Minister, CISO and the Auror department of what we know…And _THEN _organize a detailed operation. If we leave now, I'm _CERTAIN _we'll make it in time—" He stopped when Harry growled and shoved him away from her, causing the metamorphagus to crash against Spencer.

Spencer winced at the impact and took several steps backwards of his own, forcing more agents behind him to take even more steps away from Harry's seething form. At the look of anger and frustration on her face, however, Byron stood back up and raised his hands at her to calm her down.

"Harry…I'm worried about my cousin too…I'm also worried about Vincent and I understand completely what you're feeling right now but _NOW _is not the time to be so stupidly reckless…We have a much better chance of saving them if we get more people to help us. Do you understand…?" He asked her gently, reaching his hands out and placing them firmly onto her heaving shoulders.

Harry stared blankly at him for several tense moments, her eyes wide with anger and her hands clenched tightly into angry fists. After a couple of deep breaths, she finally managed to calm herself down and closed her eyes – willing herself to count to ten so as not to explode again. As soon as she had gotten a semblance of control over her raging emotions, she looked up and met his eyes again – finally nodding at him in understanding and quirking her lips into a small, weak grin.

"Y—you're right, Byron…Th—the best course of action right now…As Head Unspeakable…Would be to convene with the others and to get as much help as possible before surging in there—" She agreed carefully, reaching into her robes again and digging through her inner pockets as she spoke.

Byron nodded gratefully at her words but fused his eyebrows together in confusion immediately right after as soon as he saw her taking her Unspeakable badge and ID out of her pocket.

"Harry…What are you doing—"

"—which is why I am _OFFICIALLY _resigning from my position of Head Unspeakable."

She raised a hand up to silence the sudden outbreak of gasps and protests that had suddenly erupted from the other agents gathered around her – all of which now stared and gaped stupidly at her as though she had just grown an extra head. When none of them managed to say anything for the next couple of seconds, Harry managed a weak smirk at all of them and turned to Byron again – reaching out and placing her Head Unspeakable trainee license and department badge into his hand.

She squeezed his fingers and nodded firmly at him, returning the disbelieving look in his eyes with an encouraging grin. "Take the rest of the Unspeakables and convene with the Minister tonight, Byron. Explain everything to them and please inform them of my resignation…After which, _PROMISE ME _that you will get up off your arses and head to Egypt after me as soon as possible."

Byron gaped and paled at her words, his own fingers tightening around her hand and preventing her from pulling away. "_WHAT?! _Are you bloody _NUTTERS_, Harry?! You're going to Egypt by _YOURSELF?! _That's _BOLLOCKS! _I'm not going to let you! I'm going with you! You can't expect to be able to defeat whoever's waiting there for you all by yourself! You're being so _RECKLESS_—"

Harry's eyes flashed and she glared warningly at him, tightening her fingers around his hand in an effort to silence him. "You can't go with me, Byron! _SOMEONE _has to stay with the rest of the Unspeakables and convene with everyone else for a _PROPER ATTACK _in case I fail! Which I assure you may happen and in that case, I'd need someone like you to save my arse." She tried to laugh to pass her nervousness off as a joke but Byron's eyes only hardened even more at her in anger.

"Harry, I am _NOT _letting you to go there alone—"

"She won't have to."

Byron, Harry, and the rest of the other Unspeakables gathered around them all froze up and whirled around at the sound of Hermione's voice not too far away behind them. They found the Zabini Mistress just by the entrance of the waiting room with a fierce, determined expression on her face.

At the implication of her words, Harry seemed to pale even further and shook her head fiercely at her. "Hermione, I can't let you do that! This mission could be dangerous and you're hardly trained enough to go with me! You could get hurt a—and—" She stopped when Hermione let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head and answering Harry's concerned protests with a pointed smirk.

"When has that ever stopped you from taking me with you on your adventures _before_, Harry…? I don't need to be a fully trained Unspeakable agent to want to save my husband." She clenched her hands into fists ad flicked her eyes down to the floor. "All this was partly my fault…Or my department's fault at least…I—I want to make up for it. I—I want to help you. Let me, Harry." She looked up and met Harry's hesitant green eyes again, waiting in bated breath for her response.

In spite of the disbelieving shakes of heads Harry knew she was receiving from the other Unspeakables circled behind her, she sighed and rewarded her brown-haired best friend with a helplessly amused, defeated smile. "…What the hell…We always did make a good team, 'Mione…" She agreed softly, her words bringing a similar smile of genuine gratitude onto Hermione's face.

"Thank you, Harry—"

"What about me?!"

This time, Harry couldn't prevent another helpless laugh from escaping her lips as soon as she recognized Ron's voice calling out to them from behind. Their redheaded best friend had stood up from the corner of the waiting room and eventually ran up to stand a couple of steps behind Hermione – a similar look of stubborn determination etched onto his features. His sudden protest had accomplished nothing but make Byron and even more Unspeakables groan in exasperation.

Ron ignored them, however, and eventually looked up to grin widely at Harry – turning slightly to his side to reward Hermione with a conspiratorial wink. "I was always a part of this team too, wasn't I…? I can't believe you guys almost forgot about me…I want to help you too, Harry." He told her firmly and if anything, his words earned him a reluctant, amused smile from Harry.

Pointedly choosing to ignore the hesitant looks she was receiving from the rest of the Unspeakables standing behind her, Harry nodded once to her two best friends before turning to meet Byron's worried brown eyes again – rewarding her cousin-in-law with a firm, reassuring smile.

"Well…There you have it, By…I have my team…You have yours. Now please…Don't worry about me. I'll be waiting in Egypt for you guys…We're wasting time. We have to go _now." _She watched as Byron seemed to hesitate again for a couple more seconds and bit his lip in thought. When Harry continued to glare imploringly at him, however, he finally relented and let out a defeated sigh, nodding and turning around to address Nicholas, Spencer and the other agents circled around them.

"You guys all heard what she said…I'm assuming temporary leadership and right now, I want you all to head to the Ministry as _FAST _as possible! Now! Do it _NOW! _There's no more time to spare! I don't want anyone slacking off! _NOW!_" He ordered briskly, watching as the group of Unspeakables all scattered off at his instructions and began apparating away from the hospital room one by one.

As soon as everyone else had left and the room had fallen into heavy silence once more, Byron turned around one last time and met Harry's eyes again – a look of worry and uncertainty creasing his handsome features. "Harry…Are you sure about this…? I—I could still go with you…"

Instead of answering him directly, Harry gave him a grateful smile. "Just…You know…In case we all end up getting our arses kicked and all…Well…Don't be late." She reached a hand out and rewarded her cousin-in-law with a light, playful punch to his shoulder. "Go get 'em, By…_Go now."_

Byron sighed but gave her one last nod and wink before apparating off with a loud 'pop', leaving Harry staring after the empty space where he had once been standing. As soon as he had gone, she finally turned and met both Ron and Hermione's encouraging faces again – her lips tugging upwards slightly when she caught sight of the familiar, agitated look of excitement on Ron's face.

As though having read right through her thoughts, Ron's grin widened even more and he walked over to both girls – slinging his arms over their shoulders. "So…Harry…Mione…Doesn't this feel wicked…? Just like old times, eh…?" He kidded, his words eliciting a laugh from both his best friends.

Giving both former Gryffindors a nod of acknowledgment, Harry twirled her wand once in her fingers before shoving it into the pocket of her boots. Flicking her eyes back up, she met Ron and Hermione's slightly nervous expressions and rewarded them with her familiar, mischievous wink.

"Let's kick some arse, shall we…?"

* * *

**A/N: **Phew! Now that we're all pumped up for some action, let me just say…_WOOHOO! :D _Oh and if any of you are wondering…Harry's penance for her mistakes isn't exactly over _JUST _yet. You'll see later on what I mean, I promise. And another thing…_YES_, there _WILL_ be more of our adorable little Garrett and Gabriel. Heehee. You'll see them both again in the last two or three chapters I think. As well as one last rated scene perhaps in the epilogue. *winks*

**Next Chapter: **Draco tries to go after Harry, Fights and Confrontations :D (dun-dun-dun!)


	17. Blood Ties

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: I was listening to the radio just a couple of days ago and I heard **Hate that I Love you **by **Rihanna.**I just realized how much it reminded me of this story. :D I suggest you all listen to it if you have the time…It's a really cute song that I think fits Draco and Harry's relationship in this series. :D

As of now…I'm CONSIDERING writing a FICLET after TPW about the twins in Hogwarts but no promises yet. I plan to work on **Phoenix Tears **once this story finished first. If ever, would you guys be interested in a ficlet about the Garrett and Gabriel? Tell me if you think I should! :D

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Blood Ties**

_Where…Where am I…?_

Forcing his heavy eyelids open and squinting against the bright white lights that greeted him, Draco blinked up blearily at the ceiling in confusion. _Wha…Where's…everyone…? What am I doing here? What the hell—_ He turned his head slightly to the side and took a quick glance around the room – noting the floating health instruments and the tubes of vitality potion injected into his wrists.

Forcing his eyes to open even wider, he turned his head again and strained to see through the window. _Harry…? Where's…Harry…? Where's…_ Draco's face creased into a small scowl and he began thrashing weakly against the instruments all around him, fighting desperately to free himself.

_What the fuck…Stupid…Bloody…Instruments…Get…these…things…OFF!_ Draco's thoughts were barely coherent even to _himself _but he ignored this and began struggling more persistently against the instruments attached to him, eventually drawing the attention of the only visitor in the room.

"Draco! What are you doing?! Stay still, you're going to hurt yourself!" Anton protested angrily as he snapped awake from his nap and rushed over to his irritated cousin, grabbing the older Malfoy son's hands. Draco growled weakly and tried to push him away but Anton grunted and forced his hands back down, shaking his head and tucking the other man back underneath the blankets.

"Draco, _STOP _struggling, you stupid prick! You're only able to move _NOW _because of all those tubes attached to you and because of that potion being fed into your body! You take those things off, you'll just collapse like a useless sack!" Anton snapped pointedly at him, sighing as he sat back down onto the seat beside Draco's bed and grabbed another magazine off the nearby table.

Draco took one look at him from the bed and snarled, his silver eyes narrowing impatiently at the blonde half-veela in ire. "Who do you think you are, a bloody _Healer_?! Where's my wife?! Where are my parents – where the hell is _EVERYONE?! _Why only _YOU?!_" He would have struggled again had Anton not raised his wand and pointed it lazily at him, strapping the other Malfoy down onto the bed.

"It's just about past ten, Draco… The family just went home to take a quick rest and a shower. They've been here for nearly five hours while you were sleeping. They'll be back after about two more hours so just sit tight…I'll be here with you till then." He looked up and threw his disgruntled cousin a sardonic smirk, muffling a soft chuckle when Draco answered him with an irritated grimace.

"Wonderful…That's just bloody _brilliant. _Why did they leave _YOU _behind…? We're not exactly the best of friends, you know…Why not Harry…Or Byron…Or…Wait…Where _IS _Harry, anyway? Did she leave?" He winced and forced himself up into a seating position to look around the room again. His face immediately scowled in disappointment when he realized that his wife was not in the room.

Anton took one look at the miffed expression on Draco's face and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, inwardly considering to himself his next words. "Uhm…Well…Truth is, Draco…We haven't seen Harry at all since she left with Ron and Hermione about three hours ago…And Byron…Well…He left just before they did too. Said something about convening at the Ministry…" He let his sentence trail off but at the worried look on his face, Draco knew Anton was hiding something else from him.

Fortunately enough, it didn't take much effort to coax it out of the half-veela. Draco gave him a single death glare and a vicious snarl until eventually, Anton winced again and continued – his voice falling into a hesitant whisper. "I…I don't know exactly _where _they went, Drac…_Really _I don't. But when Byron left, he was muttering all this nonsensical rubbish about _Infusions _and _Egypt _and that—"

"_EGYPT?! IS THAT WHERE THEY WENT, ANTON?! TELL ME—" _The last part of Draco's shout was cut off abruptly when he fell into another violent, coughing fit, causing Anton to wince and shift uneasily in his seat again. He watched as Draco wiped weakly at the blood that had issued from his lips and looked up at him, his face a lot paler than it had been when he had first woken up.

"Anton—"

"I _don't _know, Draco! I really don't know what's going on here! All I have is this!" The half-veela reached into the pocket of his blue robes and gave his older cousin another helpless grimace. He stood up and placed what appeared to be a ripped-out page from an old book onto the foot of Draco's hospital bed, watching as Draco's eyes widened in dread when he saw the symbols written on it.

He sat back down and watched as Draco picked up the piece of parchment in growing suspicion, waiting until his cousin's silver orbs flicked back up questioningly at him. "Harry gave it to me just before she and the others left…She said it would explain everything to you and that she'd explain more about it when she got back—" Anton hesitated before continuing the last part of his sentence, watching as Draco's gray orbs slowly began to widen in fear and realization.

"_Oh good god…It c—can't…I—it can't be—"_

"—Harry also told me_ specifically _to tell you _not _to worry…that she'd get your magic back for you…" Anton finished this up by letting out a shaky exhale of breath, leaning back against his seat to watch Draco's frightened expression slowly beginning to crease into an angry, disbelieving scowl.

"…Th—that…That…_STUPID…RECKLESS…ASININE PRICK! _What in Merlin's name does she thinks she's doing?!" He cut himself off and tried to rise up out of his bed again – only to end up cringing in pain the moment his body had attempted to straighten up "U—ugh…H—help me get up, Anton! I'm going after that stupid bitch! I—I can't believe sh—she would do that—where's Byron—"

Anton winced and hurriedly rushed back over to him, pushing him back down onto his back. "Stay in bed, you moron! You can't go after her now, you'll do more harm than good in your condition! You can't even sit your arse up without help!" He snapped impatiently, earning himself another glare.

"_WHERE'S BYRON—"_

"_I don't know where he is! _I think he's in the Ministry with the others! _SERIOUSLY_, Draco! You _HAVE _to stay still! You don't even have any _MAGIC _in you right now! You're helpless—" Anton stopped right in the middle of his sentence when Draco growled again and shoved him right off, causing the half-veela to wince and stumble backwards a couple of steps at the strength of Draco's shove.

The action seemed to take much more precious energy out of the Malfoy Head than he realized, however, and he ended up coughing and wincing again – pausing for a few minutes to take in several breaths of air. Once he managed to breathe again, he looked back up and directed his younger cousin with a firm glare – his fingers wrapping tightly around the sheet of paper in his hands.

"Take me to Egypt, Anton…Take me there _NOW."_

Anton gaped and stared at him as though he was insane, his blue eyes nearly bulging out its sockets. After having blinked at him speechlessly for several minutes, he finally gathered enough of himself and managed to shake his head hastily in refusal at him, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Are you _MAD_, Draco_…?! _ You're in _CONFINEMENT _for Merlin's sake! You're not allowed to leave the Hospital and the rest of the family will be returning soon to check up on you! We can't just up and go to Egypt now! No way!" He blurted out, attempting to walk away and sit back down onto his seat but Draco reached out and grabbed a fistful of his robes, holding the other Malfoy in place.

At the strange mixture of maniacal determination and helplessness in his older cousin's normally composed gray eyes, Anton blinked and took a step back – flinching when he heard the desperation dripping from Draco's voice. "_PLEASE…_Take me to Egypt! I—I have to get there…I d—don't know why but I j—just do…I can't get there alone! _PLEASE…_You've got to help me, Anton!"

Anton bit his lip and stared hesitantly at the other Malfoy son in silence, noting the genuine fear in Draco's eyes and the way he was practically trembling in his agitation. The fingers Draco had wrapped around Anton's robes loosened and the Malfoy Head pulled back, turned to his side and began to cough blood up violently again – the sight of which elicited a sigh from Anton's lips.

Shaking his head, the blonde half-veela gave Draco one last reluctant grimace and slowly took the paper from his older cousin's hands. "B—but…It's against hospital policy, Draco! I—I can't take you out of here unless you're cleared! Plus, Uncle Lucius and Grandfather _specifically _told me to watch over you until they get back! What do you think they'll do to me when they come back and find out that we're both not here and that I took you to _EGYPT _in your current condition—"

Draco silenced the rest of Anton's rants with a firm shake of his head, letting out a weak laugh and looking up to give his younger cousin a small smirk. "A—are you telling me y—you're actually a—afraid of going _against_ what Grandfather said…? I—I thought you were the rebel in this family…?" He managed to tease weakly, coughing several times again as he waited for Anton's response.

To his amusement, Anton took one look at Draco's pointed smirk and gave him an indignant glare, his blue eyes narrowing slowly at the implication of the other Malfoy's words. "I wasn't afraid of going against Grandfather, you prick! I was merely…_WATCHING _out for your welfare! You can't even stand! If they come back and find out that their most precious and most perfect Malfoy son is gone…They'll end up blaming _ME _like they _ALWAYS _do and then who'll end up the bad guy again—"

In spite of himself and the weakness that was slowly beginning to seep into his body again, Draco managed a weak laugh at Anton's snide comment and gave him a wry grin. "Aw…I didn't know you cared so much about my _WELFARE_, dear cousin…You don't have to hide that concern you know."

Anton's eyes narrowed even more and he glared at Draco as though he was trying to burn a hole through the other Malfoy son's head. "Why you conceited, self-righteous bastard…I ought to—"

"_Please, _Anton…"

He stopped when he heard the unusual softness in Draco's voice, the sound of which caused him to blink and stare disbelievingly into the Malfoy Head's face. The smirk on Draco's face had disappeared and had been replaced with a fearful, agitated grimace while his eyebrows had fused together in deep concern – the sight of caused Anton's eyes to widen in reluctant understanding.

"Wow, Draco…You're really serious about this aren't you—"

Draco remained silent and shook his head firmly again. He forced himself back up and reached his other hand over to his wrist, yanking off the tubes connecting the vitality potion to his body. He was still wincing when he looked back up at Anton and rubbed his sore wrists in pain as he spoke.

"My wife…is in…_Serious…_Danger… I—I have to go after her…I don't know _how_ I know that…But I just _do. _Sh—she needs me…Please…You have to help me, Anton…Take me to Egypt. Please…"

Anton stared blankly and silently at him for a long series of tense moments, both of his eyebrows arched up in genuine surprise. Then, as though in helpless, amused defeat, the half-veela finally gave him one weak shrug and shook his head, smirking to himself in sheepish agreement.

"Ugh…I hate familial obligations."

* * *

"There…Right _there!_"

Both Harry and Ron followed the direction of Hermione's pointed finger and squinted through the dim glow of their wands, eventually making out the crumbled-up remains of what appeared to be the magical entrance doors to the Ancient Ceremonial site. It took a couple more minutes for all three of them to actually reach the entrance. They made their way through the dark, sand-stormed desert winds surrounding them, their robed forms shivering slightly under the cold atmosphere.

_"Ugh…_And to think I thought this would be _just _like that time I visited Egypt with my family back then…Remind me never to visit Egypt at night." Ron muttered under his breath, pulling his cloak closer around his shivering figure as he followed Harry and Hermione's footsteps through the sand.

Harry could only nod weakly in reply as she wrapped her own cloak tighter around her shivering form, her fingers like ice as they wrapped around her shoulders. She blinked and looked up at the familiar entrance in front them, her mind immediately drawn to the time just a couple of weeks ago when she, Byron, Vincent and Nicholas had visited this very site in the course of their missions.

_I can't believe I'm back here…This place gave me the creeps…_ She thought silently to herself, remaining completely silent as she followed Ron and Hermione through the entrance. Both stopped just as they reached the small, narrow corridor that Harry had once explored and turned around to shoot her a look of concern when they saw that she had stopped just a couple of steps behind them.

"Harry…?"

Rousing herself out of her own deep thoughts, Harry blinked rapidly for a couple of times before forcing herself to meet their worried gazes. "H—huh? I—I'm sorry…? You guys said something?" She asked distractedly, bending down slightly to remove her wand from the inside of her boots.

Hermione's eyebrows fused closer together and she took several steps towards the other girl. "Harry…" She began uncertainly, reaching a hand out and placing it firmly onto Harry's shoulder. "Are you okay…? We need you on this…You _know _Ron and I are useless without you. Stay in focus…"

At the reminder in her words, Harry felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and she nodded hastily at them in reassurance. "I—I'm sorry…I—I was just…I was just worried about Draco…A—and about how this could have all been avoided had I just…I don't know…_BEEN THERE…_I—I just don't know—" She stopped when Ron walked over to join them and gave her a light punch to her shoulder.

"Mate, come on…Lighten up, already! I thought we already discussed this…Give yourself a break! No one could have predicted all this would happen and that's exactly why _WE'RE _here right now! We're going to put an end to it…Just like we always do. Right…?" He offered her a cajoling grin, which Harry could only return with a weak smile and nod, her eyes expressing her silent gratitude.

"Thanks, Ron—"

aHar "You're not the only one who feels that way, Harry…" Hermione suddenly interjected, cutting off Harry's response as she drew both their attention to her pale, guilty features. The Zabini Mistress looked as though she was trying to hold in tears as she looked at them, biting her lip in uncertainty.

"Th—this was _my _fault too, Harry…I—if only CISO had told the other departments from the very start what we knew…This could _all _have been avoided. I—I'm so sorry…N—now e—even Blaise, Draco, Neville, Vincent…And the others…Are all in danger. I c—can't believe I—" Hermione's stuttering voice broke abruptly in the middle of her sentence and ended up as a sob – to which Harry responded to by sighing softly and reaching over to pull the crying woman into a tight, hug.

"Stop it, 'Mione…Ron's right. Now's not the time to start pointing fingers…We have to get that creep and bring him to Azkaban…Okay? It's…_nobody's_…fault…But it's _our _responsibility now to set things right…" She spoke the last sentence of her words more to herself than to anyone else and if anything, hearing her say the words out loud seemed to make the realization all the more clear to her.

_Now's the time to make things right again…I'll make things right…I swear to it. _

Hermione smiled tearfully at Harry's words, reaching up to wipe the tears issuing from her eyes. "Y—you're right, Harry…W—we can do this! Come on…Let's go and get this over and done with." She nodded firmly again and met both their eyes, her brown orbs gleaming in determination.

Ron grinned at her and took out his own wand while Harry just nodded back in affirmation, stepping around her so that she stood in front.

"Both of you…Just stay close behind me…I've been here before. I know my way around…Keep a lookout in case you see anything suspicious." She told them firmly and after waiting for them to nod at her words, she turned around again and began walking carefully down the long corridor.

As they walked further into the ceremonial site, their surroundings seemed to become even darker such that they had to light the tip of their wands – holding them up to illuminate their way through the corridor with an eerie, yellow glow. The light from their wands cast several shadows on the ancient paintings drawn all around them, the strange effect making it seem as though the drawings of all the ancient blood sacrifices Harry had seen before become even more vivid in detail.

Hermione gasped loudly in horror as they passed by a particularly gruesome painting of a wizard being drained of all his blood. Her voice echoed along the silent corridor and caused Ron to turn around and silence her with a pointed glare. She bit her lip to silence her horrified gasps again and nodded meekly at him, latching herself tightly onto his arm as she trailed off behind them again.

When Harry finally reached the end of the corridor – just by the ancient entrance doors she and the other Unspeakables had already opened once before – she stopped and turned around to look at them. "This entrance is already open…Byron and I already opened it once before. It leads to a shrine or some sort…But I'm afraid that's it…" She gestured for them to follow her inside, stopping just as they reached the middle of the room and stood on top of the large symbol of the _TIET_ on the floor.

Ron looked quizzically at her while Hermione kneeled down and inspected the symbol on the floor, her eyebrows fused in thought. Harry watched them uncertainly, holding her wand up higher to illuminate the small, empty room.

"There's got to be some kind of entrance somewhere here that leads to the inner part of this ceremonial site…I'm sure of it. I read from the CISO archives that the actual ceremonial altar to perform magical infusions is so much larger than this…I just don't know where it is yet." She admitted dejectedly, watching as Ron grunted and squatted down impatiently on his knees.

"You mean we aren't even in the actual site yet…? Blimey, Harry…And here I was all geared up thinking that this was it. What does this bloody symbol stand for anyway? Is it Ancient Runes—" He stopped when Hermione promptly jumped up and seized his hand, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Ron, quick! Give me your hand! _NOW!" _

Harry turned around and watched them curiously as Ron gave Hermione a nonplussed look but did exactly as she said – only to yelp loudly and angrily yank his hand back a second later when Hermione had pricked his finger and squeezed out several droplets of his blood onto her hand.

"_HERMIONE, ARE YOU NUTTERS?! _That bloody _HURT! _What are you trying to do—"

He stopped and watched in utter dismay as Hermione ignored him, bent down and touched the droplets of his blood right onto the very center of the _TIET _symbol on the floor. Although the symbol seemed to glow red brightly for several seconds, nothing else happened soon after. In spite of herself, Harry sighed and slowly walked back over to stand on the _TIET, _bending down to inspect it carefully.

"That's it…? Then what…? Are we supposed to say some kind of incantation or something after that—" The rest of Harry's words quickly ended up as a choked-up scream as the symbol below their feet promptly vanished altogether. They were soon standing over mid-air – of course, eventually causing all three former Gryffindors to end up screaming as they began plunging down into darkness.

In the midst of their rapid descent through the damp, musky air, a crazy-eyed Ron turned his glare to Hermione's screaming figure and let out an angry tirade of curses.

"_BLOODY MERLIN'S BEARD, HERMIONE! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?! WHERE DOES THIS LEAD TO?! ARE WE DOING TO DIE ALREADY?!" _He screeched at her but Hermione just shook her head frantically and screamed louder, burying her face into her hands in sheer panic.

"_I DON'T KNOW WHERE, RONALD! IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, I HAVEN'T GONE ON A DEATH-DEFYING ADVENTURE WITH HARRY FOR YEARS! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON!" _She shrieked back angrily at him, all but reaching out and strangling Ron as they continued plunging through the cold air towards the very bottom of the large pit they had seemingly fallen into.

Ron let out another choked up growl and narrowed his eyes at her. "_AND YOU THINK 'I' HAVE?! I'VE DONE NOTHING THESE LAST FIVE YEARS EXCEPT SIT MY ARSE BEHIND A DESK! YOU—"_

Harry couldn't help it.

She buried her face into her hands and burst out into genuine, helpless laughter, her black hair flying up all over her face as she fell through the air beside them. Ron and Hermione froze in the middle of their argument and turned wide, disbelieving eyes toward her, watching as Harry struggled to contain her laughter and looked up, reaching into her pocket and holding out her wand.

"_Solidus Descensio!"_

All three former Gryffindors suddenly froze in the middle of their fall and after a moment's pause, continued their descent more slowly – allowing both Ron and Hermione to sigh in relief. Flushing in embarrassment, they both looked up and glanced sheepishly at Harry's teasing smile.

The Malfoy Mistress shook her head at them, twirling her wand pointedly along her fingers. "We're wizards, you guys…Or have you both forgotten? Has it really been so long since we've done this together that you're both so rusty…?" She teased again, her words causing their flush to darken.

Ron merely grinned at her and shrugged in embarrassment while Hermione grumbled in response, her facial features creased into a frown on horrified embarrassment. It was only a couple more seconds after that the soles of their shoes finally touched the floor. The minute they had all straightened back up, Ron blinked upwards at the hole they had fallen from in utter disbelief.

"Blimey…That sure was one _LONG _fall…"

Harry rolled her eyes at him and ignored his antics, drawing her wand back out of her pocket. She turned to Hermione again and gave the other girl a cautious glance. "Keep a lookout, you two…Everything else from here on out… I don't know what to expect." She told them, not bothering to wait for their response as she walked on ahead – her eyes inspecting their surroundings.

They had fallen right in the middle of a large, empty dome-like field – the middle of which was illuminated by the small beam of light from the open entrance they had fallen from. Around them, the sides of the dome was littered with dozens of tunnels as entrances, each of which seemed to be leading off towards a separate direction altogether. Taking one look around the large area, Harry placed her wand on the palm of her hand and leaned down to whisper something under her breath.

"_Point me."_

Ron and Hermione both held their breath and watched as Harry's wand stopped and automatically pointed itself towards the northern most tunnel just up ahead – causing all three pairs of eyes to flick up to the indicated direction. Just as they were about to walk off, Ron suddenly flinched in panic beside Harry and reached a hand out to stop both girls dead in their tracks.

"What was that?! Did you hear that?!" Harry winced at the sound of Ron's loud squeak and slapped her palm against her forehead in frustration. Reaching over Hermione to grab at his collar, she pulled him forward and ignored his protests as she dragged his struggling form along after them.

"N—no, I'm _SERIOUS, _Harry! I heard something! It sounded like a hissing noise, slithering noise! I swear!" Ron stopped them again just as they reached the northern-most tunnel, his antics eventually causing Hermione to let out an irritated grumble and whack him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ronald, will you _KEEP QUIET?! _We don't know _WHAT _could be waiting for us in there and if you keep struggling, someone might find us!" She hissed back irritably, attempting to shove both Ron and Harry forward again but Harry seemed to have frozen completely in place, her eyes wide as saucers. Her face was pale and she stood staring cautiously at something over Hermione's shoulder.

"O—or…Some…_THING…_"

Hermione frowned and turned to stare at her in puzzlement.

"What are you talking about, Harry? Come on, we're wasting time! The full moon might be gone soon and we have to hurry—" She stopped right in the middle of her sentence and paled instantly, her words ending up into a weak, choked-up squeak that sounded suspiciously like fear.

Fortunately enough, Ron seemed more than happy to finish the rest of Hermione's sentence.

"I—is that a…Is that a…_BASILISK?!" _His voice cracked and he had taken several steps backwards in fear, bumping unknowingly into Harry behind him. Sighing in exasperation and promptly twirling her wand once around her fingers, Harry nodded and stepped forward – placing herself right between her friends and the gigantic basilisk making its way toward their forms from across the dome.

"This could take a while… You two go on ahead and try to figure out where the actual ceremonial site is…I'll catch up. Just…_Please _try to get there as soon as you can. I don't think we have any more time left." She told them worriedly. Just as it looked as though she was going to run right at the angrily-hissing basilisk in front of them, Ron suddenly reached a hand out and grabbed her arm.

"Wait!"

Harry froze and whirled around in slight surprise, her eyes wide as they stared up at Ron's determined – otherwise slightly nervous expression. Her redheaded best friend had seized his wand right out of his pocket and walked resolutely over to shield her figure from the approaching snake.

"You and Hermione go on ahead…Somehow, I think it's more important for you to be there, Harry. I'll take care of this little sucker…It's been awhile since I've worked these muscles out anyway." Although he had tried to sound laidback as he said this, Harry heard him gulping loudly and blanched.

"Ron…In case you haven't noticed…That basilisk is hardly _'little'_ and I doubt—"

Ron snapped his head back and glared pointedly at her. "Just _GO, _you two! I can handle this by myself! Go on, I'll catch up to you in a bit after I skin this snake alive!" He managed to give both gaping girls a wink after this, turning around just in time to block the basilisk as it swung its tail.

"Ron don't—_YARGH!" _

Both Jaimee and Hermione screeched and ducked their heads down just as the basilisk took another swing at them again – this time followed by it rearing its ugly snake head and hissing at them, his big yellow eyes attempting to glare them right to death. Ron grunted and pointed his wand at it, initiating a spell that forced the snake backwards a couple of meters enough for the girls to get away.

Once he had done this, he turned around one last time and shot both girl a pointed glare. "I said _GO_ _NOW! _Go before I change my mind!" He shot a brief immobulus spell at the basilisk just as Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her away, stopping just as they reached tunnel.

"Go kick some, Weasley!"

Ron answered Harry with a dismissive wave and grin and just as the basilisk broke out of his immobulus spell, Jaimee and Hermione were both already running off down the tunnel, their light footsteps thudding softly along the ground. They turned a sharp corner and stopped just as they reached another series of tunnels – to which Jaimee had to lay her wand down onto her palm again.

"_Point me."_

"Harry!"

Harry heard the warning tone of Hermione's hissed shout but before she could even turn around to answer, the other girl had already jumped at her and forced her to duck down. Grunting in pain, Harry heard the distinct 'woosh' of a spell zooming several inches past her ear, causing her to stiffen and turn around abruptly once Hermione had helped her straighten back up.

"Aw…I missed…And I was _so _hoping to scratch that pretty little face up…_Mistress Malfoy…"_

They both heard a dramatic sigh and giggle, eventually causing both women to stiffen in anticipation when they realized the series of footsteps making its way slowly toward them.

"Well, well, well…You figured it all out after all, did you…? It took you long enough…I was beginning to wonder if anybody would show up…" The familiar drawling voice that said this finally caused Jaimee's green eyes to flash and narrow slowly in growing anger when she realized who it was.

"_You! _Conniving, evil little…_bitch…_I should have figured you out from the start. You're lucky I still don't hit women!" She snarled, her glare intensifying even more when Natasha's elegant, attractive features finally came into full view. The blonde metamorph smiled innocently at her and stepped towards them, raising her wand and pointing it directly at Jaimee's chest in warning.

"_Yes…_You should have…But unfortunately…You were never really _there _now, were you…? Dear…Sweet…Perfect little Jaimee…Always away while her _utterly gorgeous…_and _completely irresistible _husband stayed at work…with _me…_Hmm…How convenient…" Natasha giggled when she noticed Harry stiffen even more in raging fury, the Malfoy Mistress' hands clenching slowly into tight, angry fists.

"Why…you—"

Hermione reached out and clasped a hand over Jaimee's arm, keeping the other woman firmly in place. "_Don't _do it, Harry…That's just what she wants you to do. You're better than that…Come on. You _know _she's lying…" She told her pointedly, watching as Jaimee struggled to control her rage.

After several tense seconds of taking deep breaths of air to calm herself down, Jaimee finally blinked and looked back up to meet the metamorph's taunting smile with a very Malfoy-like sneer.

"So… Tell me, Richardson…How _insulting _was it for your pride as both a woman _and _a metamorph that you were repeatedly shoved away by my husband…? You _do _know that Draco would _never _touch a filthy, disgusting little whore like _you _right? He has certain…_standards_ when it comes to women." Her sneer widened at the flush of indignation that suddenly stained Natasha's pale cheeks.

For a couple of moments, she seemed incapable of doing anything else except sputter incoherently at Jaimee, her violet orbs flashing in annoyance. "I—I…H—he hardly…I don't think…_NO MAN _has ever t—turned me down! Y—you…I c—can't believe you would s—say that y—you—"

Hermione stifled her own smirk at Natasha's stuttering and watched as she continued to struggled for a retort, her eyes narrowing in outrage. "Oh yeah…? And what…_standards _are those…? Women who act like men…? Or women who used to _BE _men?!" She tried to taunt right back with a similar sneer of her ownbut this faltered instantly when Harry just smiled back cheerfully in response.

"…_Something _like that…Don't take it personally."

Natasha let out a vicious snarl and swung her wand at her, aiming a particularly nasty jinx directly at Harry's face. Gaping and ducking expertly to avoid getting blasted, Harry raised her own wand and pointed it at Natasha in retaliation – a dozen counter spells already formulating in her mind.

_"Nostra—__" _

Hermione reached out and silenced the rest of Harry's spell by yanking the other girl's wand out of her hand. "Harry, _STOP! _You haven't got the time for this!" She ignored Harry's angry protests at her and whipped her own wand out, using her other hand to shove Harry backwards behind her.

Harry took one look at her and gaped at her as though she had grown an extra head.

"Hermione, are you _MAD?! _Give me back my wand and let me finish this annoying bitch once and for all!" She raged but again, Hermione just shook her head at her in stubborn refusal, turning around and leveling Natasha's heavily amused smirk with a dangerous, warning glare.

"_No, _Harry…This bitch is the same woman who attacked my husband as well…I have a score to settle with her. You go on ahead and stop whoever's performing that ceremony…We barely have any time left. I'll catch up to you soon, I promise…" At Hermione's words, Harry's eyebrows fused together and she stared uncertainly at her, grabbing her wand back out of the brunette's offered hand.

"B—but Hermione—"

"I said _GO NOW, HARRY! _I'll catch up to you as soon as I can, I promise! Just go! Leave this bitch to me!" She snapped back impatiently, cutting off the rest of Harry's sharp protests. When it looked as though Harry was going to say something else, Hermione sighed and shoved her forward.

"Go on, Harry! We don't have much time left!"

Natasha didn't seem too pleased at Hermione's suggestion and scowled darkly to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh _brilliant…_The Head Unspeakable goes on ahead and I'm left to fight with the useless librarian…I feel so special now." She drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

She followed this up by flicking her eyes back at Harry and giving the other woman a threatening leer. "Don't worry, Mistress Malfoy…I'll be coming after you in…Maybe less than _five minutes…_Perhaps even _less_ depending on how pathetic this mudblood is going to be fighting against me." She laughed loudly to herself at the highly embarrassed glare Hermione shot at her.

Just as the Zabini Mistress flushed and looked as though she was about to offer a similar sarcastic retort, Jaimee stepped forward and surprised both Natasha and Hermione when she raised her hand and brought it down hard as a painful bitch slap against the metamorph's pale cheek.

_**SMACK!**_

As the distinct sound echoed clearly in the dark dome-like area around them, Hermione didn't bother hiding the laugh that escaped her lips as Harry smirked and pulled away – rubbing her sore fingers contentedly. Natasha gasped and gaped up at the Malfoy Mistress in utter disbelief, her violet eyes dilated to the size of saucers and her pale cheek now sporting a very distinct hand-shaped bruise.

"Wh—what—I—thought you said you didn't hit _women! _Y—you said so!" She shrieked back loudly, cowering backwards a few more steps when Harry raised a hand and attempted to slap her again. The sharp shrill nature of Natasha's screech caused Harry's sneer to widen even more and she shook her head at her, grabbing her wand from Hermione and placing it back in her pocket.

"In your case, I think I can make an exception…" She looked up and leveled the gaping blonde metamorph one last…surprisingly perfected…Malfoy glare. "I will only say this _ONCE _so listen closely you sick, morphing bitch… If you _EVER…_and I mean _EVER…G_o near _MY_ husband again…I promise you…You'll be morphing just to fix your broken face." Natasha paled at her words but she continued.

"I've defeated Voldemort countless times before… Finishing off a useless woman like you is going to be a piece of cake. I doubt the Ministry would even punish their precious wizarding savior should I end up 'accidentally' killing you…Don't you dare _test _me." She hissed darkly, some of her words unknowingly coming out as parseltongue but Natasha seemed to understand her anyway.

"Wh—why you…You _bitch! _How dare you talk to me like that_—"_

"I'm the Mistress of the Malfoy family…I'll talk to you however I want." Jaimee retorted with a derisive scoff, rolling her eyes as she began to walk away from the metamorph's enraged form.

Hermione cut off the rest of Natasha's growling response by giving her best friend a wide grin of amusement. "Good luck, Harry…I'll see you in a bit. I'll take care of this little bitch for you for now." She winked at her for effect and soon enough, Harry grinned back and nodded in affirmation.

"Knock her lights out for me, Hermione."

Natasha looked as though she was going to snap back something equally sarcastic back at Jaimee but the former Gryffindor had already turned and stormed off towards the tunnel to their right – her loud, heavy footsteps drowning out the rest of Natasha and Hermione's continued dialogue.

As she turned the corner to right and found herself striding right into yet _another _large dome-like area circled by a series of different tunnels and passageways, Jaimee slapped a hand to her forehead and resisted the urge to scream out loud. _GODDAMN IT…! These bloody tunnels are endless! How do I even know if I'm going the right way?! I'm wasting too much time with this! _

Scowling and fighting to keep a firm hold over her anger, Jaimee laid her wand out flat on her palm. She was just about to whisper the navigation spell once more when her trained Unspeakable senses detected the distinct, although still _very _soft, sound of a footstep somewhere nearby. Forcing herself to still to hear the sound, Jaimee's eyes narrowed even further in growing suspicions when she heard not _one _but a _series _of footsteps making their way towards her from many different directions.

_Now what…? _She twirled her wand back in place into her hand and set a calm smirk on her face, her muscles tense with anticipation. Taking several steps backward towards the very center of the area, she tightened her fingers around the handle of her wand and arched a single eyebrow.

"…And who might _you _all be…? Useless…_Goons_…I presume?" She had directed her snide, taunting comment to the nearest set of footsteps approaching her, smirking wider when the man the footsteps belonged to seemed to stop right in his place at her jeer. She heard him growling in annoyance just before his footsteps quickened even more towards her in unmistakable anger.

"A pretty…delicate little woman like you…All alone in the dark…Shouldn't act so cocky…_Mistress Malfoy…_We're been given strict orders not to let anybody through here." He answered back in a gruff voice. More huge, hulking men suddenly began to visualize themselves all around her – drawing Jaimee's attention to the fact that they all seemed to be closing in on her form in one tight circle.

Feeling a wave of adrenaline rushing into her, Harry finally allowed herself to look up and meet all their faces – rolling her eyes when she was met with practically identical faces of bearded, sneering, half-drunken thugs. Taking one look at them and the way they were drawing in closer with their wands outstretched towards her, Jaimee let out a single dramatic sigh of exasperation.

"Uhm…Just so we're clear about something….You all…_do _know that I'm Harry Potter right? That I've fought _hundreds _of men like you before for warm-up practice…?" She asked sweetly, looking up and pretending to flutter her eyelashes at them in an exaggeratingly demure, feminine manner.

They took one look at her small frame as though she was crazy and ended up bursting into simultaneous, boisterous laughter – the sight of which bringing another knowing smile to Harry's face. She twirled her wand along her fingers and reached up, tying her long hair up primly into a ponytail.

"Hold on a tick…Let me just fix my hair—"

"Is she serious?! Go get her, you idiots! Boss' orders!" One of the men behind her snapped impatiently, his droning voice breaking through the other men's laughter. As soon as he had said this, all the other men stopped laughing and snapped into action, raising their wands and practically surging forward simultaneously towards her in one hulking mess of limbs and amateur jinxes.

Just before the men had all closed around her in a tight circle and blocked out any remaining light from her vision, she finally let out an impish grin and held her wand up at them in anticipation.

"_Now_ we're talking…"

* * *

"Draco, wait! Stop!"

Anton winced and watched helplessly as Draco stubbornly pulled himself away from his helping grip again and tried to walk off further down the long narrow corridor ahead of them on his own – only to grimace in pain and stumble forward onto the floor moments later. Wincing and forcing himself to stand back up, a couple more droplets of blood escaped the former Slytherin's lips as he coughed violently and struggled to keep himself upright while latching weakly onto the nearby wall.

"U—ugh…N—no time to stop, Anton! C—come on! L—let's go further in there…Th—they probably w—went in through there, I—I'm sure of it!" Draco coughed out, latching onto Anton's offered arm again as the half-veela sighed and helped him up by slinging his arm around his shoulders.

"I don't know _what _we're doing here and I think you're absolutely _crazy, _Draco! I don't even know where this tunnel leads to!" Anton protested loudly as he supported Draco through the long narrow tunnel, wincing every now and then when he saw the gruesome pictures along the walls.

"Ugh…Look at this place! This gives me the creeps! All these torture relics and symbols…Do you even have any idea where we're going?!" Anton looked back at his cousin and watched as Draco winced and held back more coughs, his gray eyes searching frantically around the area.

"N—no…B—but th—there has to be a clue around here s—somewhere…Th—there! H—help me get over there!" He winced again and supported himself up by latching onto his cousin's shoulder again, coughing a couple more times as Anton brought them both to the end of the corridor.

Once they had reached the end of the tunnel, Draco let go of Anton's shoulder and pushed through the entrance. He immediately regretted this reckless decision about a second later when his strength gave out again and he ended up stumbling onto the ground with another series of coughs.

"U—ugh…A—Anton…Help me up!"

Anton rolled his eyes once at his cousin's stubbornness and sighed, walking back over to where Draco had collapsed right on top of the strange symbol on the ground. "Drac…I _really _don't understand what we're doing here. For all we know, Harry could be back at the hospital by now and—"

"Just shut up and h—help me stand, you veela jerk—" Draco's poorly formed insult ended up into another series of violent coughs and gasps again, eventually causing the former Slytherin to crouch down low onto the floor and attempt to cover up the blood that was issuing from his lips.

Anton's eyes widened at this and he rushed forward to help the other Malfoy son up. "Alright Draco, I am _seriously _taking you back to the hospital now before you hurt yourself even more—"

He was just about to help his cousin back up to his feet when several droplets of Draco's blood ended up spilling onto the symbol on the floor –causing the ground beneath them to glow bright red.

At this, both Anton and Draco's eyebrows shot up and they stared at the symbol beneath them in confusion. "What the…Drac, _what _did you do?" Anton asked warily as he bent down to touch it.

Draco shook his head, reaching a pale hand out to trace the symbol in thought.

"I—I d—didn't do anything…B—but th—this is the s—symbol of the _T—TIET…_I—it r—represents—_ARGH!_"The ground beneath their feet suddenly vanished into thin air – causing Anton's eyes to widen in alarm and turn to Draco for a split second in question before both men started falling listlessly down the pit below – their shouts and curses echoing loudly in the dark silence.

* * *

_"Urgh…Ugh…S—s—stupid…B—bitch…"_

Harry whistled cheerfully to herself as she knelt down on one knee, frowning when she saw the heavily stained smudges of mud on her black boots. "Hmm…That's irritating…" She stood back up and looked around the large dome-like area again, her bright green eyes scourging through the scene of bruised, battered and groaning men scattered messily all around the ground by her feet.

Sighing and shaking her head at herself, she stepped over several unconscious men in front of her and bent down towards one hulking figure near one of the southern tunnels. "Do you mind…?" She smiled sweetly and didn't bother waiting for an answer as she ripped a piece of small cloth right out of the man's torn robes, smiling apologetically when the man just gave her a blank look of disbelief.

"H—how…D—did…Y—you…"

Harry turned around to give the gaping man one last sheepish smile before bending down on one knee again and using the cloth in her hand to wipe at the stain on her boots. Ignoring the shocked, wheezing stares she knew she was receiving from the remaining conscious men around her, she stood back up, tossed the now dirtied cloth to the floor and hastily shoved her wand back into her boots.

"Oh…One of you guys wouldn't happen to know which tunnel is the right one to take, would you?" At the dangerous gleam in her eye as she said this, they all winced to themselves and pointed meekly at the tunnel to the far right of the area, their fingers shaking in slight fear and nervousness.

Harry nodded gratefully at them and began to walk towards the tunnel. "Thank you, gentlemen…" As she made her way through the throng of bruised bodies scattered all around her, she heard several more of their groans of pain – causing her to hide a smirk to herself in amusement.

_Well…That went well…_She thought to herself with a chuckle, making her way silently through the dark narrow path ahead. As she reached the very end of the tunnel, just where a dim glow of light was emanating from, she heard a series of soft, whispered voices and stiffened in anticipation.

Slowing her footsteps, Harry reached down and carefully clasped her wand firmly in her fingers once again, tightening her grip anxiously around the handle. She took a couple more steps forward and listened carefully to the distinct voice speaking a couple of meters away from her – stopping just inches away to make sure she was still standing within the tunnel's dark shadows.

Unfortunately, as she bent down on one knee and tried to hide deeper behind the shadows to avoid being seen, she heard an amused, laughing drawl up ahead calling out to her.

_"Hello Jaimee…" _

"Gargh!"

Harry blanched in surprise at having been addressed and accidentally lost her footing, wincing in pain as she ended up stumbling in a rather ungraceful heap of limbs onto the damp, tunnel floor. She heard the approaching sound of a man chuckling to himself several feet away and she scrambled back up to her feet, holding her wand out protectively in front of her in immediate alertness.

"Wh—who are you? Show yourself!"

She heard the man chuckle again but this time; Harry was able to make out his form as he finally stepped into the light – allowing her to see the strange glinting of a familiar pair of red-speckled brown eyes. As soon as she saw his leering

face, Harry felt all the blood drain out of her cheeks.

"_Y—YOU…?!" _

The handsome, dangerously sneering face of Maximillian Thornton stared back calmly at Harry's pale, disbelieving expression – his eyes narrowing slowly as he approached her with slow, confident strides. "Me…" He drawled back arrogantly, grinning wider when Harry began to back away.

"Wh—wha…How…Why…I—I can't believe—"

"Couldn't you…?" Max cut her off lazily, looking down at her and arching a single eyebrow in challenge. "The signs were all there, I'm afraid…I'm actually quite surprised that someone didn't figure it out sooner. But then again…You always _were _too trusting for your own good, were you…_Jaimee?" _

Harry colored in humiliation at his words but managed to compose herself, reaching out and pointing her wand directly at his sneering face. "I should have known all along then…I can't believe I've been trying to defend you all this time!" She scoffed derisively and took a step backwards from him when he just grinned at her words and made to walk closer towards her tense frame.

"Yes and to be quite honest, I've never really thanked you for your efforts—"

"_STAY BACK!_" She shot a flurry of red sparks from her wand in warning, causing the man to stop in his tracks and lean back to watch her with a languid smirk. "Aren't you going to ask me how I did it all? I mean…It's a pretty interesting concept if you think about it huh…The squib who was tortured by all those pureblooded scumbags…Eventually amassing their magic for himself?" His grin widened at the look of mortified disgust on Harry's face – her eyes flashing angrily at his words.

"S—so what is this…?! Some sick kind of personal vendetta…? You're trying to get some form of revenge against all those who bullied you before for being a squib…Is that it?!" Her voice shook several times as she said this and she tried in vain to steady the wand she pointed at his face.

Max' eyes twinkled mischievously and he raised his eyebrow higher at her, his heated gaze suddenly trailing up and down her body. "You know…I've always thought you were a very attractive woman, Jaimee…Perhaps all that defense of me in front of your husband…Meant something?" He drawled in a mockingly flirtatious tone of voice, laughing when Harry's eyes hardened in disgust.

"Don't bet your life, you sick bastard! Now answer my question before I blow your head off!"

He laughed again and leaned casually against the side walls of the tunnel, reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out a cigarette. "Well…How do I put this…_Yes…_And _No…_Jaimee…" He ignored the confused look on Harry's face and placed the cigarette gingerly between his teeth, reaching out into the pocket of his robes once more just before he continued. "You see…All this wasn't actually _MY _idea, you know…In fact…It's not even _me _who's going to be performing the ritual."

He paused when he caught the look of frustration on her face and smiled at her again, holding up the _wand_ he held in his free hand so that Harry could stare at it in dismay. Biting back another wave of questions that were threatening to erupt from her, Harry watched in shock as Max's smile widened and he raised the wand he held up to his cigarette, igniting the tip easily with a simple spell.

_Wh—what the…I thought he was a squib! H—how d—did he—_

Max smirked at her expression and winked, holding his wand up and leveling it with hers. "I wouldn't really call it a personal vendetta, Jaimee…But more of…Using the past to try and make myself a better person for the future…" He grinned widely and gestured to the person coming up behind her.

"Oh…Jaimee…Forgive me…But I don't think I've actually properly introduced you yet—"

Harry barely heard his words as she stiffened and tried to evade the spell she had sensed coming up behind her. Unfortunately, this seemed to have only been a distraction maneuver as Max took that opportunity of her back being turned to him to lash out his own powerful hex at her form.

"_SECTUM SEMPRA!" _

As Harry grimaced and her entire frame was hurled violently against the far wall at the very end of the tunnel, she squinted and managed to look up once just before she lost consciousness – her green eyes dawning in stunned realization when she met the familiar face smirking back at her.

_R—Richard…W—Wickham…?_

This was her last coherent thought before Harry finally felt the searing pain of the spell on her wounded body. Her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she finally lost consciousness, the wand in her hand slipping from her fingers and falling limply down onto the cold damp floor.

* * *

"Move, move, move! Hurry up! We don't have much time!"

Byron growled impatiently as he, Spencer, and the rest of the other Unspeakable Agents practically tore through the Ministry corridors towards the apparition areas. About a dozen more Aurors and CISO officers followed right after them – the entire Ministry's hallways filled with loud shouts, issued orders and panicked movements from all the other occupants in the different offices.

Once he had gotten to one of the transport sites, Byron was just about ready to apparate off when a loud voice disrupted him out of nowhere and forced him to turn his attention to another group of Ministry officials making their way across the cramped lobby towards him. Resisting the urge to explode and roll his eyes, Byron clenched his jaw and forced himself to wait for them.

"What?! What does the Minister want _NOW_, Weasley?!" He snapped irritably at the redheaded man who had stopped directly in front of him. Percy Weasley took one look at the annoyed growl on Byron's face and glared right back, holding up the small piece of parchment in his hands.

"The Minister wants to talk to you one last time before you and the others leave, Malfoy…It will only take a couple more minutes. He just wants a full explanation of the mission parameters. You need to come with me right _now._" He ignored the frustrated look on Byron's face and turned away, leaving the metamorphagus scowling and cursing darkly under his breath as he grudgingly followed.

Sighing, he took one last look at his wristwatch and winced again – glancing up to shoot Nicholas a pointed glare. "I'll be back in exactly _THREE _minutes! Make sure everyone's in proper formation and well-prepared by then! We leave as _SOON _as I get back!" At that, he turned around and stalked off angrily after Percy Weasley's form – cursing the Minister repeatedly in his head.

_DAMN IT…WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! _

* * *

"Oh…Look Max…Our little guest is awake…Just in time too."

Harry held back a groan of pain when she heard this and forced her eyes open; blinking rapidly up at the blinding light that suddenly began to flood her vision. It took her several more seconds of squinting before her sight finally began to focus and she managed to look around – her eyes immediately growing to the size of saucers when she finally remembered where she was.

_Oh good god…What time is it… Am I too late…What's happened— _She winced and got up into a sitting position on the damp ground – inspecting her surroundings with a hint of fear laced into her wide green orbs. _Bloody hell…They're starting the ceremony…I'm too late…_ Her face began to pale in realization when she caught sight of Max and Richard's forms several feet away from her – right at the very center of the eerie-looking altar that was positioned at the very front of the large room.

As soon as he saw her looking at them, Max met her eyes and rewarded her with a cheerful smile. "Hello Jaimee…Did you have a nice rest? Father and I were just about to start the ceremony. We figured you might want to watch so we decided to give you a front row seat…" He gestured idly to her bound position on the floor, smirking when Harry began to struggle against her magical binds.

"You son of a bitch! When I break free of this spell, I'm going to cut you in half! Let me go—"

Max shook his head at her cursing and feigned an insulted look, sighing as he walked over to stand right in front of her bound form on the ground. "Tsktsk…Such nasty language, Mistress Malfoy…You haven't properly addressed my father yet…I know you have already met several times before but you still have to mind your manners. It's only fair." He sneered when Harry finally seemed to realize the meaning of his words and froze, her eyes flicking up to stare at Wickham in shock.

"F—father…? W—Wickham…_YOU?! _You were in on this whole thing all along?! I don't understand—" Wickham raised a single hand and cut off the rest of Harry's sharp protests with a silencing spell, shaking his head at her when she began to struggle more wildly against her binds.

"Silence, young Jaimee…I'm in the middle of something here…I shall address you in awhile. In the meantime… Why don't you look around you and enjoy the pure historicity of this altar…? Isn't it quite a sight to behold…?" He gestured to the dimly lit room around them and smiled at her, raising his wand again and using it to point around the room with an expression of awe on his face.

Harry stiffened at his words but grudgingly followed his eyes around the dark circular room, feeling an unexplainable surge of fear plaguing her chest when she noted the different symbols and drawings adorning the walls. Just like the smaller altar, the symbol of the _TIET_ was etched right at the center of the room onto the floor and directly above it stood a beautiful chandelier made entirely of red rubies – each one sparkling beautifully amidst the glow of the room's floating candles all around.

The ceremonial room was huge – almost about half the size of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch – and as she peered closer, Harry could make out what appeared to be the remains of ancient Egyptian magical barriers that heavily lined the circular walls. Just by the front of the room – exactly where Richard was standing behind the large stone altar – stood a small golden chalice filled with the bright red, flowing liquid. Harry could only assume this was the blood of all the pureblooded victims and fortunately enough, her suspicions were proven correct when Richard saw her expression and smirked, nodding at her as he reached out, picked up the chalice in his hands and held it up for her to see.

"Yes, Jaimee…This is what you're looking for…" He chuckled and held the chalice up closer to the light. "It's a beautiful sight, isn't it? The combined blood of sixty four powerful pureblooded males…Ready to be infused and transformed into a magical source for my son." He raised an eyebrow at the look of confusion on her face, watching as Harry shook her head frantically at his words.

When she looked as though she wanted to say something else again, Richard finally rolled his eyes and flicked his wand to remove the silencing charm off her. As soon as he did this, Harry's raspy, cracking voice began blaring at him full force. "B—but…I don't understand…H—how did…It was _YOU?! _Why…?" Her voice shook slightly and she began to struggle more wildly against her magical binds.

"I understand why _MAX _would do all this b—but…You? You're his…Father? How?! I don't understand how—" She stopped when Max seemed to have lost his patience at her queries and leaned down to grip her roughly by her chin, forcing the rest of her rushed questions into a muffled gasp.

"Jaimee…Jaimee…Jaimee…Sweet…Beautiful little Jaimee…You _still _don't get it do you…? Who _ELSE _had direct access to gather enough blood from all those pureblooded males…Who _ELSE_ was the only one who had unmonitored interaction with all those pompous bastards…It certainly wasn't _me…_" He grinned at her and trailed his eyes back up at his father, giving the older man a cheerful wink.

"My father…Richard Wickham…Is the preferred… most _trusted…_personal family healer of nearly _ALL _the most prestigious pureblooded families in Europe…He had countless…Perfect opportunities to gather all the needed blood samples from those pureblooded victims to perform the ceremony…How _else _could we have obtained that much blood without anybody noticing…? It was the perfect plan…"

Harry's eyes flashed and she tore her face away from him when Max had reached out to caress her cheek. "So all those supposed attacks on the purebloods…? None of that was actually real…? Is that what you're saying?! What about all those symptoms and seizures a—and—Natasha…?"

Max sighed dramatically and pulled himself back up, ignoring his father's disapproving glare as he walked back over to the far end of the room. "Merely a show, actually…I just said the right incantations to 'mark' the intended sacrifice. Once that was done, it was up to my father to gather _enough_ samples of their blood while they were unconscious in the hospital…Why do you think they always went into comatose exactly _two _or _three _days after…?" He laughed after he had said this, watching gleefully as Harry's flashing green eyes finally began to widen in belated realization.

"S—so…A—all this time…I—it was…_You?!_ I t—trusted you…M—my whole _FAMILY _trusted you! I t—trusted you with my _SONS…_My pregnancy…So many families trusted you! You sick bastard! _WHY?!" _

Harry directed her question to Wickham this time and narrowed her eyes angrily as she watched him turning back around to face her, his blank elderly face meeting hers for a long time. Then, when he noticed the look of disgust on her face, his eyes narrowed and he sneered at her – causing Harry to blanch inwardly to herself when she caught the genuine hatred in his older features.

"Why…? _WHY?!! _Miss Jaimee…?! Do you think I…_CARE?!" _

She flinched when he had exploded at her in raging fury, his normally warm blue eyes now dilating violently with a maniacal gleam in their depths. When Wickham looked as though he was going to rush right at her, she grimaced and tried to move backwards from him again in panic.

"Maximillian…is my _ONLY _son, Jaimee! My only…illegitimate…son!" He reached a hand out and placed it firmly on Max's shoulder, turning his gaze back to glare angrily at Harry's pale face.

"How do you think it all feels…_Jaimee? _Devoting every single _GODDAMN _day of my life…Serving and taking care of all those perfect…pureblooded families…Helping give birth to those _perfect_ little children… Seeing them living their selfish little lives and watching helplessly as they have _EVERYTHING _going for them." He stopped and curled his lips into a derisive sneer as he said this, shaking his head at Harry's bound, cowering form on the ground in angry disgust.

"How do you think it hurts _ME_ to watch and take care of these _PERFECT _little families with their selfish little lives…How do think it hurts _ME _to watch these young, reckless parents neglect their children when I – a devoted father – was unable to give my own son the simple gift of magic?! Do you know how that _FEELS_, Jaimee?!" He let go of Max's shoulder and bent down so he could peer directly into Harry's wincing expression, sneering wider when she was unable to say anything in response.

"I—I'm…I'm sorry…Th—that's not my fault—"

"Do you think I _LIKE_ this job of mine…? Pretending to care about other people's lives?! Taking care of families like the Malfoys…the Winchesters…The Zabinis…All those annoyingly perfect families with their annoyingly perfect children…Do you think I enjoy doing what I do, Mistress Jaimee?!"

Harry tried to speak up again, looking up over Wickham's shoulder into Max's grim expression. "But what about _YOUR_ own family, then? Why did you bother doing all this just to help your son—

Wickham shook his head at her words and sneered at her, his eyes darkening in contempt. "I don't _HAVE_ a family, Mistress Malfoy…My familial blood has a history of squibs…Try getting women to marry you with THAT kind of blood legacy…Why do you think I took up this job in the first place?"

Harry swallowed the dry lump in her throat and shook her head. "S—so Max…Is…?

Wickham blinked once and arched an eyebrow at her. "Max is my _illegitimate _son, yes…Needless to say…His mother didn't exactly want to marry me when she found out my blood history." He scoffed after he said this and finally turned away, walking back towards the large altar.

"You see, Jaimee…? When it all comes down to it…It's always just a matter of pure blood, anyway…It's the only reason we have all these stupid '_Hunting Seasons'_…Well…I believe Max and I have found our way around that little obstacle now, haven't we?" He looked over his shoulder and shot his smirking son a conspiratorial wink– the sight of which caused Harry to begin struggling again.

"Y—you can't do this! There are so many lives involved here! I know you love your son and you want to give him the gift of magic but this is certainly _NOT _the way to help him—"

"Shut up, Potter." Max cut her off rather bluntly, walking around her struggling form as though she was nothing more than a mere inanimate object and making his way across the large room. "Don't talk about things as if you know…You have _NO _idea how it feels to be a squib raised in a traditional pureblood setting…I had a horrible childhood. My father is only trying to set things right."

Harry paled further at his words and shook her head again, her eyes flashing in growing fear when she saw Wickham already beginning to initiate the ceremony at the front of the room. "No, _STOP! _You can't do this, Wickham! You're going to take so many lives! Don't do this, _PLEASE!_"

"Ugh…All this unnecessary shouting…What's all this noise about now, love…?"

Blinking and momentarily forgetting her frantic struggles, Harry's eyes widened in horror when she caught sight of Natasha's slender figure slinking back calmly into the room – the heels of her shoes clicking dramatically along the stone ground. When she noticed Harry's mortified staring at her, she smirked wider and walked right up to stand beside Max's frame – chuckling under her breath as she reaching both her arms up and wrapped them securely around his neck.

"If you're wondering about what happened to your muggleborn little friend back there…Don't worry. She isn't dead…_yet._ I spared her life and left her to fend for herself alone amidst a pit of Egyptian asps back there…Although I doubt she'd survive long either way. Oh well…" She giggled at the pure look of hatred Harry shot at her and pulled herself closer against Max's lean figure.

"_Bitch—"_

Max grinned at both women's interaction and turned his face back towards Harry, looking over Natasha's shoulder to give her a saucy wink. "Ah…Jaimee…Now that you've met my father, I want you to meet my fiancée as well…But I think you two are already well acquainted enough…?" He chuckled when Natasha merely cocked an eyebrow at Harry and rolled her eyes at her in exasperated boredom.

For the life of her, Harry couldn't remember ever hating anybody else so much in her life before until now. Her hands and feet were beginning to hurt from all her struggles against the magical binds around her but still she continued her efforts, flicking her panicked eyes back over to where Wickham was already beginning to administer the infusion ceremony at the very front of the room.

"_WICKHAM, DON'T DO IT—"_

Max cut her off again and tried to distract her efforts once more by looking up over Natasha's left shoulder and giving her a suggestive grin. "I'm glad you girls finally got to meet each other properly…You know, Jaimee…My beautiful Natasha here is actually _quite _the perfect wife to have…Quite frankly, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of her beauty…If you know what I mean."

Harry gasped loudly and tore her gaze away from the pair in front of her when she was greeted with the rather disturbing image of an exact carbon copy of herself locked in a heated, very passionate embrace with Max – the sight of which made her want to hurl in absolute disgust.

_"STOP IT!" _

Both Natasha and Max ended up laughing to themselves when they heard the revulsion in her voice, eventually separating themselves from each other long enough for Natasha to morph herself back into her original appearance. When she looked as though she was going to taunt Harry again, the Malfoy Mistress snapped her attention back to Wickham and began shouting loudly at him again.

"_WICKHAM, I SAID STOP IT—"_

She watched helplessly as Wickham issued the last of the ceremonial incantations from his lips and raised the chalice up into the air again – releasing it a moment later once it had lit up and had begun floating up from his outstretched hands to the center of the room directly above the large altar.

Harry's eyes followed the chalice all the way up as it just about reached the ceiling, her bright green orbs filling rapidly with helpless tears of defeat. She watched in dismay as the chalice's contents began glistening under the dim light just before the blood droplets floated up into the air, eventually and _very slowly _amassing itself into what appeared to be a fist-shaped, sparkling red crystal.

_Oh Merlin…No…No…Please no…Draco…_

* * *

"Draco?! Draco, wake up! Draco!"

Anton tucked his veela wings back into his frame and deposited his older cousin's limp form onto the ground below, landing his feet onto the ground nearby a couple of seconds after. When Draco _still _wouldn't get up or open his eyes after several more minutes of Anton trying to jostle him awake, the younger Malfoy son's voice suddenly began to crack and he looked around the area nervously.

They had fallen right into the middle of a large dome like area with several tunnels scattered all around them in a circle, the sight of which causing Anton's blue eyes to widen in disbelief. Flicking his gaze back at his watch, he noted briefly that it had been already been a full hour since he had taken Draco out of the hospital and turned back to his unconscious cousin again in growing panic.

"Drac?! Draco, wake up! Come on you prick, you're starting to scare me! Wake up—" Anton broke himself off in the middle of his sentence and took a shaky step backwards as Draco's frame began to convulse violently on the ground – his silver eyes snapping open and staring lifelessly at him in a blank trance as though the Malfoy Head had lost all sense of what was happening around them.

"Draco? Drac, snap out of it! _DRACO! WAKE UP! DRACO!!!!!!!!!" _

* * *

Jaimee felt several tears beginning to roll down her cheeks but she furiously blinked them away, glancing back down to watch the rest of Wickham, Max and Natasha's actions across the room.

Wickham was smirking as he handed Max his wand again, gesturing briefly to the set of glass artifacts and statues situated at the other end of the room. "The ceremony has already started, my son…It won't be long now until all that power is yours. While we're waiting for the infusion to finish…Why don't you start testing your new powers out already…? I'm sure Mistress Malfoy over here would like to see to it that you're putting her husband's and her friends' powers to good use."

Both men smirked briefly at each other when Jaimee lashed out in maniacal anger and began to struggle hysterically against her binds "_YOU BASTARDS! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! LET ME GO!" _

Natasha giggled to herself and crossed her arms over her chest, watching contentedly as Max took the wand from his father's offered hand and held it up into the dim light. Then – to both Natasha and Wickham's surprise – Max reached out and flicked his wand over at Jaimee's violently struggling figure, chuckling briefly to himself when the Malfoy Mistress immediately darted to her feet in anger.

"_WHAT—"_

Wickham reached a hand out and placed it firmly on son's shoulder, both of his eyebrows fusing together in an expression of wary disbelief. "Son…? What are you doing…? If we let her go now, there's no telling _what _she's capable of doing—_" _Max silenced the rest of his father's worries by shaking his head, reaching up and patting the older man's hand comfortingly in reassurance.

"Don't worry father…As you said… I just want to put my new powers to good use…" He leered contentedly to himself and turned his attention to Harry's crazed green eyes again, walking over to her so that he was standing directly in front of her stiff, seething frame. "…And of course…What better way is there to do that than to test my new magic against none other than the _great…_Harry Potter…"

He smiled as he said this and inclined his head once at her in a gesture of a mocking bow.

"I challenge you…To a wizard's duel…_Harry Potter_."

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize if the chapter was devoted entirely to action and plot revelation. The next chapter should be a little bit more to your liking…Which is why I uploaded it the same time as I did this one. :D Go on ahead and skip to the next chapter, I know you're all probably aching to already. ;)


	18. The Two of Us

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: I won't delay this chapter anymore. Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Chapter 18 – The Two of Us**

"I challenge you…To a wizard's duel…_Harry Potter_."

Harry nearly fell back to the ground in shock at Max's issued challenge, his harshly whispered words echoing repeatedly in her mind. She heard both Natasha and Wickham's furious gasps and protests at Max's suggestion but they remained completely at the back of her mind at this point.

For a long time, she could do nothing else than gape silently at Max's smirking face – her cheeks flushing slowly in a mixture of anger and determination. He glared right back at her, his red-speckled brown eyes narrowing slowly as they peered at her tense, seething frame in amusement.

"Well…? Challenge issued, Potter…Shall we dance…?"

Harry broke out of her trance immediately and managed to let out a furious growl, her face twisting into a mocking sneer at his words. "Oh yeah…? And what makes you think I'm going to partake of this sick little game of yours, Max…? What is this…? Is this some kind of way to 'reassure' yourself of your new _stolen _magic?! What if I told you I refuse to fight you?!" She snapped back, taking several steps backwards from him when he sniggered and moved towards her form.

Max took one look at Harry's defensive stance and grinned – reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out her wand. When her eyes flicked over to it in panic, his grin widened even more.

"Come now, Harry…All I'm asking for is a fair opportunity to fight you…You know you've always been one of my favorite wartime heroes ever since I was a kid…It'd be an absolute honor." He followed this sarcastic remark up by bowing mockingly at her, causing her anger to grow even more.

"You disgusting son of a bitch—"

"I said _language_, Mistress Malfoy…Must you always be so hostile…? After all…I've always assumed that you were a fair person…Don't you think it'd be rather unfair of you to deny my challenge just because I was born a squib…? That's a bit _unjust_… Don't you think so?" He pretended to look insulted at that, the expression on his face drawing a sardonic look of disgust from Harry in disbelief.

"How do I even make sure that…Should I accept your challenge…This fight is going to be _fair_ in the first place…?" She countered bluntly and if anything, hearing her words brought another snide smirk to Max's face. He ignored his father's and Natasha's shouting protests again and held Harry's wand back up, whistling cheerfully as he tossed it up into the air towards her.

"You don't." He answered back easily, chuckling to himself as he watched Harry catch her wand in mid-air and hold it out stiffly at him, her green eyes flashing suspiciously in confusion.

"What the _fuck _do you want from me, Thornton…?"

Max's smile hardened and he took another step toward her again, flicking his dark brown eyes back up to the slowly forming red crystal floating serenely several feet above their heads.

"Let's make a deal, Harry…You entertain my simple request for a fight with you…And…Well…If you win… Why don't I promise you the one thing that you actually came here for?"

His words accomplished his intention immediately as Harry's attention was immediately drawn to him, her green eyes following his gaze up to the partially formed crystal above their heads. "Wh—what do you mean, Max…? C—clarify yourself further…What do I get if I fight you?" She asked carefully, ignoring the twinge of wary concern that was beginning to overwhelm her thoughts.

Max's eyes glinted maliciously and he let his eyes travel back down to rest on her pale face, his expression turning into one of sadistic amusement. "Simple, Harry…You fight me…In a magical duel…Easy as that. If I win…I get to heal my damaged pride from my childhood with the distinction and the very _honor_ of having beaten…One of the most powerful wizards in our generation…" He let his voice trail off dreamily and he gazed back at Natasha's face, winking at his fiancée's worried eyes.

Harry gulped loudly and took a cautious step backwards from him. She tensed and kept her wand pointed directly at his chest. "Oh yeah…? A—and if I win…?" She challenged again, her voice shaking several times as she tried to calm the rapid pounding of her heart in her chest.

Max's smile darkened back into a frown. "If _you _win…Well…My father and I…Shall stop this ceremony and allow all those purebloods to have their magic – and lives – back."

Harry's eyes suddenly glinted in determination at his words but Max just smirked at her, shaking his head at her reaction. "So…What do you say, Jaimee…? Fair enough? Do we have a deal…?" He flicked his eyes back up to the forming crystal above them, pretending to look worried as he shook his head. "Better hurry up with that decision though, Jaimee…I reckon we don't have much time before that crystal is fully formed and your husband's life is gone forever…" He sniggered when he caught sight of the genuine fear and worry that latched onto Harry's pale, conflicted features.

"Well…? Time's a wasting, Mistress Malfoy…Tick…tick…tick…tick…tick—"

"_ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT, DAMN IT! _I'll fight you! I accept!"

She blanched when she heard her own voice breaking when she blurted out her response, her cautious gaze focused intently on the red crystal that was slowly beginning to take definite form right above their heads. Max gauged her reaction correctly as fear and smiled widely to himself, twirling his wand casually between his fingers as he began to approach her form across the room.

"Well then… Why don't we get started, Harry—"

"_MAX! _What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?!?" Wickham's irate voice broke right through Max's sentence as the older man tried to walk up to him, holding him back by his arm. Max sighed and pulled himself out of his father's grasp, turning around to give him a reassuring smile.

"Relax yourself, Father…Tasha…" He inclined his head once towards the worried look Natasha was giving him from where she was standing. "I won't lose…" He winked at them and turned back to stare at Harry's pale face, smirking wider when he noticed the hesitancy in her eyes.

"Now…Let's match the magical strength of _sixty four_ of Europe's most powerful pureblood magic…Against the _Great Harry Potter…_Shall we?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he said this and he didn't bother waiting for her to ready herself as he approached her with his wand outstretched.

_"EXPELLIARMUS!" _

_"HARRY! NO! DON'T FIGHT HIM!" _

Harry barely got a glimpse of both Hermione and Ron rushing into the entrance behind her before she was forced to duck and stumble away, the force of Max's overwhelmingly powerful disarming spell causing the entire wall of rock behind her to crumble away into sharp, tiny pebbles.

_Bloody…Hell…_ Her eyes widened just as she heard Hermione screaming loudly at her again.

Max sneered and aimed his wand at her– pointing it directly at her face. "_AVADA KEDAVRA!" _He shot the bright green beam of light right at her with a loud, harsh laugh, watching sadistically as Harry grunted and barely managed to raise her own wand up in an attempt to shield herself.

A bright blue protective barrier quickly wrapped itself around Harry's cowering frame but even as the spell managed to encase her in time, the bright green beam of light that had erupted from Max's wand shot out and crashed against it– instantly causing her barrier to disintegrate into thin air.

_FUCK…! _Harry flicked wide, panicked green eyes back up just in time to see a slightly bruised and dirt-grimed Hermione trying to rush out to her again – only to be held back moments later by Natasha's sneering figure. Wickham had Ron held down in a similar grasp beside them and her two friends could only watch with fearful looks on their faces as Harry ducked to avoid another killing curse.

_Damn it! He's too strong! I can't block him!_

Harry evaded another killing curse Max had sent her way, using that same maneuver to twist herself up over him so she could attempt to tackle him from behind. The strategy didn't seem to work, however, as Max just blinked calmly at her and swished his wand once again – effectively transfiguring his wand into a long sharp sword and bringing it slashing down right at her frame.

"_HARRY, WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!"_

"_UGH!" _

The rest of Hermione's shout ended up as a choked-up scream and she gasped in shock as she watched Max's sword pierce right through her best friend's left shoulder, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Harry's lips as she ended up crashing right back down onto the cold floor. She had attempted to block off Max's sword by casting a protective spell around herself but the defensive maneuver had proved entirely _useless _against him, vanishing instantly at the mere contact with Max's magic.

"O—oh god…Wh—what…I—I can't…" Harry's features were creased into a grimace of pain as she forced herself back up onto her feet, raising her right hand and clutching it tightly onto the openly bleeding wound at her left shoulder. "Wh—what is this…?" She looked back up and glared weakly at Max's widely grinning face, watching helplessly as he transfigured the sword back into his wand.

Behind him, both Natasha and Wickham were smirking calmly to themselves, watching the developing scene with a hint of satisfaction etched onto their languid features. Ignoring their taunting expressions directed at her, Harry winced again and used her uninjured hand to raise her wand back up – pointing it shakily at Max's approaching figure. He stopped just as he reached the center of the _TIET _symbol on the floor and smiled calmly at her, arching a single eyebrow in calm query.

"Tsktsk…Are you tired out already, Harry…? The fight's just started…Surely this wasn't what all that training with the other Unspeakables has taught you…I expected more of a challenge from you." He mocked loudly, sniggering louder to himself when he was answered by Ron's furious shouts.

"_YOU CHEATING SON OF A BITCH! I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU—"_

Harry shook her head and winced as she straightened herself back up, taking several more steps forward towards Max's form so that she was also standing right on top of the _TIET _symbol. "Tired out…? What are you talking about, Thornton…? I've had worse from the bite of a flobberworm." She taunted back harshly, raising her wand and slowly letting herself assume a perfect battle stance.

Max smiled at her, mirroring her actions perfectly by assuming a battle stance of his own. "Well then…Come on, Potter! Have at me…You're almost out of time." He gestured briefly to the crystal floating above their heads again and just as Harry's eyes followed his gaze, he used her momentary distraction to slash his wand forward, aiming another killing curse right at her chest.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!" _

Harry flicked her eyes back down and slashed her wand up just in time to initiate a counter spell right at him – effectively shooting a red defensive beam out of her own wand to clash against his in mid-air. To her surprise, however, the spell didn't exactly work the way she expected and instead of extinguishing his killing curse, it ended up linking both their wands together instead with entangled magical beams of red and green – the sight of which elicited a sharp disbelieving gasp from her lips.

"_NO……! NO! ARGH!" _She winced and held on tightly to her wand with two hands when it began to shake violently as it tried to elude her tight grasp. She watched with wide, helpless eyes as the red beam radiating from the tip of her wand was slowly being pushed back at her by the more powerful green beam of magic that was shooting out from Max's wand, eventually forcing Harry backwards several steps as she struggled to keep her trembling wand firmly within her hands.

"_GAAARGH! NO! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" _

Her foot fell back another step and she was forced to kneel down onto the floor in an effort to keep still, her wide eyes going back up to stare in horror at Max's figure several yards away. Her opponent hadn't moved a single inch from where he had been standing before their wands had linked and was now watching her with an eerie smile on his face, his wand held up gingerly – almost effortlessly – by a single hand. As he watched Harry continue to struggle just to keep up with the mere strength of his magic, Max's eyes gleamed maliciously and he began to laugh in triumph.

"What's the matter, Harry…? Am I too strong for you…? Can't you keep up with me?" He watched with a sadistic sneer as Harry could only grunt in reply, her features twisted into a grimace of exertion as she fought to keep herself up against the force of his magic. By now, she was already kneeling onto the floor on both her knees and was trying desperately to break her wand free from his.

"U—ugh…Th—Thornton…Y—you ch—cheating…Bastard…Th—this magic…i—is…_NOT_…yours! Ugh!" She grimaced again and was practically shoved back on her knees several yards along the hard ground when Max just sneered and raised his wand up higher to point it right at her cowering form.

"_CRUCIO!" _

As soon as the curse had left Max's lips, Harry could no longer hold herself up against him.

The force of the green beam of magic emanating from his wand began surging right back against her wand at full force – eventually eating up her magic altogether and forcing the red beam back into her wand. The moment it had done this, his green beam of magic managed to fuse itself against the tip of her wand before it suddenly exploded right at her face, enveloping her entire frame within a bright green cloud of light that circled her and eventually lifted her right off the ground.

"_HARRY! NO! STOP IT! LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT! STOP!!!!!" _

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind, she heard Ron and Hermione's screams at her but neither one of their words seemed to make sense. Instead, all the former Gryffindor could think about in that moment was the fact _each _and _every _muscle in her body was screaming in excruciating pain and agony and that she could hear nothing else except the sound of her own screams in her ears.

_Oh god…It hurts…It hurts…Make it stop…MAKE IT STOP!_

Harry clenched her eyes shut and felt her lungs beginning to dry up from her screams but she couldn't stop. She had experienced _countless _Cruciatus curses before but in her opinion, _nothing _had ever hurt as much as Max's Cruciatus curse right now and if anything, she couldn't even _fathom _anything else in that moment except for the pain…And how much she just _wanted _for it all to end.

_S—stop…H—he's…too…Strong…I—I…C—can't…_Harry squelched down the screams that threatened to escape her again and forced her eyes back open, furiously blinking away the tears in her eyes as she stared at Max's laughing face below. Her opponent had his wand pointed at her from where he was still standing calmly on the ground and was watching her with a lazy grin on his face.

"It's amazing isn't it, Harry…? How powerful my magic is…? Even you…One of the greatest wizards of all time…Are powerless against the potency of 64 of the purest magical blood in all of Europe…Imagine all that magical history…All the pure, authentic historicity this magic must contain." He paused briefly and twirled his wand once between his fingers – causing Harry to bite back another scream as she was flipped upside down and slammed violently against the stone wall behind her.

She winced again when she felt the bleeding wound on her shoulder collide with a particularly sharp piece of rock behind her but held her pained cry back, forcing her eyes back open and glaring at Max's smirking face below. "B—blood…M—magic…Th—that…_I—ISN'T YOURS_…Thornton—"

Max growled loudly and flicked his wand to the side, cutting off the rest of her weak response as he slammed her body against the wall behind her again. This time, Harry could no longer keep quiet as a harsh cry of pain involuntarily escaped her lips – the skin on her arms and legs already beginning to bleed and bruise profusely as the Cruciatus curse continued to plague her entire body.

"And so what…? Since when does something have to be _mine _for me to take it, Harry…? _Huh? _Since when has that ever been a problem?" He sneered after he said this and flicked his wand again – this time transfiguring the pebbles on the ground by his feet into sharp tiny daggers and sending them flying right at her dangling figure. As soon as she felt the tiny blades piercing right through the skin of her arms, legs, and midsection, Jaimee felt her eyes beginning to blur again with tears of pain.

_Ugh…Merlin…Help me…_ She clenched her eyes shut and coughed out the blood that had risen up her throat, shaking her head and looking back up to stare at the blood crystal floating just above her head. More than half of the blood had been infused at this point and in growing desperation, she tried to struggle against the green magical barrier enveloping her frame again – only to end up wincing in pain once more when her struggles only seemed to make the Cruciatus worse.

Her feet were dangling helplessly several feet above the stone ground now and just below her, Harry could barely make out the sound of Ron's furious shouts and Hermione's worried sobs. Just behind them, Natasha and Wickham were watching the scene with wide, proud smiles on their faces, their expressions positively beaming as they rewarded Max with several encouraging cheers.

_Ugh…I c—can't…Do this…He's…Too…Strong…I can't…_Harry felt another tear slipping down her cheek just before she closed her eyes again. She was still holding her wand tightly in her right hand but even as she tried to initiate any form of spell, the barrier Max had trapped her in was so powerful that his magic diluted any form of hers altogether – making all her efforts at fighting back useless.

_H—help me…S—someone…P—please…_ Her pleading thoughts were beginning to drown out the harsh, mocking sound of Max's laughter coming from the ground below. Just when she thought that he was finally going to finish her off, Max surprised her when he slowly raised his wand and guided her form back down – setting her feet down gently right on top of the _TIET _symbol on the ground.

As soon as he removed the green magical barrier that wrapped around her frame, Harry let out a weak exhale of breath and collapsed onto the ground on her knees – her green eyes clenching shut and her entire body convulsing as she fought to take in shallow inhales of oxygen. Her face, robes and pretty much most of her entire body, was covered in soot and blood and she could barely stand up as she did this but still Max had his wand pointed at her, his eyes narrowed in contempt.

"Up…Get up…On your feet, Potter! Come on! The crystal's almost finished!"

Harry winced again as she clutched at the deep wound on her shoulder but forced herself to do exactly as he said, struggling weakly to keep herself upright as she turned to face him. Then, holding her wand out feebly in front of her, she scowled and attempted to lash out a series of spells.

"_I—I'm not dead yet, Thornton!" _

She clenched her teeth and flushed in exertion as, for the life of her, she began hurling out as many spells as she could positively think of at Max's still form across the room – pausing only in between each one so she could take a single breath and think of the next spell to send his way next.

It all seemed to be in vain at this point, however, as she glanced back up and watched helplessly as Max blocked every single one with effortless ease – using only a mere lazy flick of his wand to construct a powerful barrier around himself that seemed completely impenetrable by magic.

Once the last one of her spells had shattered hopelessly into thin air upon contact with Max's magical barrier, he tore it down immediately and raised his wand back up at her, pausing only to give her cowering form a calm, teasing smile. "Bravo… But… I'm afraid it's _MY _turn now, Harry…"

He sneered and didn't bother waiting for her to make a move to defend herself as he stepped forward and slashed his wand through the air again, sending a powerful, monstrous gust of wind rushing right at her bloodied form. As soon as she anticipated his spell, Harry attempted another – much stronger – defensive barrier around herself again and hoped in vain that it would hold up.

Her defensive barrier collapsed instantly upon contact from the wind by his magic.

Biting back another scream, she cringed in anticipation and wrapped her arms around herself. Max sneered wider at her reaction and sent her entire body flying backwards several feet away from him until she crashed violently against the horde of glass statues situated at the far end of the room.

_"HARRY! HARRY, NO!!!!!!!! GET UP!!! GET UP!!!!!"_

Hermione's bloodcurdling scream registered vaguely in Harry's ears from several feet away. She felt the glass of the statues shattering into a thousand tiny shards against her – several of which latching itself deeply into her skin and burying themselves deep into her open wounds and bruises.

_N—no…I—I c—can't…Die…like this…I…I c—can't…_Harry felt any remaining strength she had left in her body give out entirely. Her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she collapsed backwards – her back falling down painfully against the shards of sharp glass scattered all over the ground.

She heard several more indistinct screams and laughter coming from the room around her but none of them seemed to process into her mind – her thoughts focused entirely on the fact that she could no longer feel _anything _throughout her entire body. Her eyes squinted back open but only to stare up blankly at the nearly fully formed blood crystal hovering directly above her head, a flurry of tears and a sudden wave of thoughts and emotions suddenly running through her dazed mind.

_M—must…G—get b—back up…G—get up…Harry…G—get up… Th—the…Crystal…C—can't…_

She tried to blink away the tears flooding her eyes and halfheartedly attempted to reach the broken fingers of her right hand towards her wand several inches away – only to wince and bite back a cry a second later when she felt the hard soles of Max's heavy boots pressing down onto her palm.

"I don't think so, Harry…I'm afraid it's the end of the line for you for now…" He chuckled as he knelt down beside her lifeless, bloodied form and inspected her face – reaching a single hand out and using it to wipe at the drops of blood that stained her pale cheeks. Cringing, she shut her eyes again and attempted to turn her face away from him but this only served to irritate Max even more as he snarled and slapped her cheek – eliciting another violent reaction from Ron across the room.

"_YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I SWEAR!" _Ron growled louder and struggled in vain against Wickham's hold on him, watching helplessly as Max just smirked at him and rolled his eyes at his threat. Hermione was reduced to a sobbing pile of tears by now and Natasha rolled her eyes at her, shoving her backwards so she was standing behind her.

"Finish her off darling…The crystal's just about done…We have to leave soon!" Natasha called over to him with an impatient sigh, earning herself a lazy acknowledging grin from her fiancé. He nodded and turned back around to glance at Harry's lifeless figure on the floor again. He raised his wand and pointed it at the blank, motionless expression that was etched onto her pale, bloody face.

"I've actually defeated the great Harry Potter…Dreams _can _come true…Huh…Harry…?

Unable to say or do anything else, Harry just stared back lifelessly at him – her bright, glistening green eyes slowly beginning to fill up again with helpless tears of defeat and exhaustion.

_I…I…Deserve…This… I'm…So…Sorry…_

"Avada—"

Max's red-speckled brown eyes suddenly flicked over to the sparkling necklace just below her neck and he froze mid-sentence, kneeling back down to inspect the object in mild curiosity. Raising a single eyebrow, he reached over and used his wand to lift up the necklace – chuckling silently as he peered closer towards her to gaze in amazement at the diamond that dangled from the silver chain.

"Hmm…What's this, Harry…? Is this a present from Malfoy…?" He scoffed derisively at his own question and reached out to clasp the diamond charm in his hand, raising it up to inspect it in the light. Harry bit her lip and weakly turned her face away from the painful sight of his sneering face.

Max ignored her reaction and inspected the diamond charm in mild, amused curiosity using his wand to trace its peculiar shape. "Hmm… What is it supposed to be shaped like…? Is that a…a rollercoaster? Is that supposed to mean something to either of you? Heh…What foolish sentiments."

Harry winced and felt a sharp ache shooting right through her chest when Max reached out and yanked the diamond necklace right off her neck, snapping the silver chain right off and hurling the necklace back onto the ground several feet above her head. Then, as though in disgust, he scoffed again and jumped back up to his feet – directing his wand back down and pointing it at her chest.

_"Time to die, Harry…"_

To his immense surprise, instead of cowering away from him again as she had done before, Harry's eyes seemed to have flared to life and were now darting furiously up at the direction where Max had hurled the diamond necklace to the floor. He watched and took a small step backwards in disbelief as Harry's features began creasing into another pained grimace again. She began twisting her body towards the side, reaching her bruised and broken hand out weakly in a feeble attempt to reach for the sparkling diamond necklace that now lay several inches away from her body.

"What…The hell?" Max cocked a single eyebrow in mild annoyance and met both his father's and Natasha's equally disbelieving gazes across the room. The look they shot him mirrored the amazement on his own face. When they shrugged at him and indicated to the crystal above their heads again, Max rolled his eyes and turned back one last time to Harry's frame on the ground.

The former Gryffindor was now lying on her stomach and was crawling helplessly through the shards of broken glass on the floor towards the diamond necklace several more feet away and if anything, the pitiful sight did nothing but aggravate Max even more. He walked towards her again, raising his left foot and bringing it crashing down onto the hand she was reaching out for the necklace.

As soon as her fingers had wrapped around the diamond necklace, Max transfigured his wand into another sharp sword and sneered once before sending it plunging down onto the same open wound on her left shoulder – instantly drawing another excruciating scream of pain from her lips.

_N—no…I…I can't…I can't…Die like this…I—I can't—I won't!_

Her eyes fluttered open when Max laughed again and yanked the sword right back out of her body, taking a couple of steps back and watching as her blood began to flow out onto the ground below. As his harsh laughs plagued her ears, Jaimee blinked up rapidly at the ceiling and felt herself beginning to lose consciousness – her fingers tightening very slowly against the necklace in her palm.

_I…I c—can't…Die…N—not like this…I…I s—still have so much to live for…S—so m—many r—regrets…S—so many d—dreams…I c—can't…Not yet…Not yet…Please…Not yet…_

As those words reverberated softly in her head and her body eventually began to numb itself to the excruciating pain overwhelming her, she felt her eyes beginning to close again. Before she knew what was happening, everything around her began to fade into blackness and her thoughts began to drift away – swirling back to those few tender moments she had treasured in her memories…

* * *

"_Alright…I'll count to three then I'll remain completely silent. Try to hit me with everything you have, Potter." Draco instructed, taking a couple of steps away from her and watching as she held her hands back up to feel her surroundings._

"_One…" He grinned and shoved his hands into his pocket as she turned in the direction of his voice, taking a few cautious steps towards him._

"_Two…" A cute smile was on her face as she took another step near him, stopping briefly in confusion when her hands came across the figure of the large tree they had been leaning against on the ground._

"_Thr—" Draco never finished as she suddenly launched herself at him and tackled him back to the ground, causing him to wince in pain when she collapsed on top of him and pinned him to the grass with her body._

_Giggling playfully to herself, she used both her hands and held his down, leaning forward to bury her face into the crook of his neck. When Draco answered her with a low groan of pain and annoyance, she laughed harder rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek._

_Seeing the expression on her face, however, he couldn't stay angry for long and he began to laugh with her – freeing one of his hands and using it to unclasp his necktie from her eyes. Once he had managed to take it off, he found himself staring up at her beautiful green eyes. She smiled at him, her hand releasing his to lovingly caress his cheek._

"_Found you…" She whispered softly, her voice teasing and gentle. Her eyes rested adoringly on his face, memorizing and inspecting ever feature with unhidden admiration. Blushing under her gaze, Draco felt his breath hitch when their eyes eventually met – both pairs of orbs filled with a unique mixture of mirth and tenderness unseen by anybody else except them._

_His heart bursting happily in his chest, he mimicked her actions and raised his own hand to cup her cheek as well, pulling her face down until her lips were inches away from his._

_Meeting her smile, he forced himself to speak – his voice coming out in a shaky, reverent whisper._

"_No…I think __I __found __you__…"_

* * *

_As Draco walked back over to the crib in the corner of the room to their sleeping younger son, Harry took that opportunity to lean down and peer into Garrett's squirming figure – her eyes softening with affection when she took in her son's beautiful features. As though sensing his mother's attention, Garrett gave a soft gurgle and opened his eyes, allowing Harry to see a pair of bright green orbs._

"_He's beautiful isn't he..?" Draco asked with a small smile, carrying their sleeping younger son as he walked back over to the other side of her bed. He deposited the baby gently into his wife's arms before picking Garrett up again and sitting himself down on the bed beside her._

_Harry could only nod back silently, her throat too constricted to speak as she stared up close at the sleeping, angelic face of her baby. Cradling him gently against her chest, she peered down into the bundle of blankets and gently reached out to stroke the wisps of silver blonde strands on his head._

_The baby turned slightly in his sleep, allowing Harry to smile at the sight of his pale skin, his perfect, asymmetrical baby nose and the unmistakable Malfoy chin. His eyes were closed but since he and Garrett were identical, she knew he had green eyes as well. She leaned down and dropped a soft, loving kiss onto her son's tiny baby hands, her eyes growing slightly misty with tears of emotions._

* * *

_"Potter, what in MERLIN'S name are you doing?!" _

_Draco arched a single eyebrow and desperately tried to hold back the smirk that was threatening to come out as he strode into the kitchen of their Godric Hollow estate that morning. The scene that greeted him was the rather hilarious sight of a beautiful, cringing Jaimee decked out completely in a cooking apron and a chef's hat – her entire form covered completely in flour and icing. _

_The moment she heard his voice, Jaimee winced again and hastily turned around – accidentally knocking her forehead against one of the nearby cooking pans hanging by the ceiling. When Draco's eyebrow arched up even higher at this and he looked as though he was having difficulty holding in his laughter at the strange sight, Jaimee finally managed a weak grin at him – holding up in her hands what was probably supposed to be the semblance of a birthday cake on a large plate. _

_"U—uhm…H—Happy Birthday…? Uh…Ehehe… I thought I could bake you a cake but unfortunately…Well… I kind of suck at all this domestic stuff so it didn't turn out the way I expected."_

_She offered another sheepish grin at him and cringed when the glob on the plate in her hands promptly ended up exploding right in front of her, splashing her face and the rest of the kitchen around her with bits of icing, flour and little bits of what appeared to be chocolate chip cookie bits. _

"_You are the worst wife ever, Potter."_

_Right after he had said this, Draco's lips began to twitch in amusement as he reached out and pulled his cake-covered wife into his arms, his shoulders shaking with heartfelt fondness as he leaned forward and began eating off the icing and cookie-bits off her face with teasing, laughing kisses. _

* * *

_"Can you say it…? Come on, you two! Say 'FA-THER'! FATHER!" _

_Draco scowled to himself in frustration when both Garrett and Gabriel just stared back blankly at him from where the two blonde toddlers were sitting on top of their expensive wooden high chairs in the Malfoy Dining room. Garrett took one look at his father's imploring gaze before shaking his head stubbornly and answering Draco instead with one of his angelic baby smiles._

_"DO—WANNA!"_

_Jaimee laughed loudly just as she walked into the dining room to the sound of her husband banging his head repeatedly against the table. When he looked up and glared darkly at her in annoyance, she raised an eyebrow at him and offered the Malfoy Head a half-hearted shrug and smile. _

_"Why don't you try making them say 'DADDY' instead, of 'FATHER', Draco? I highly doubt 'father' is something they can pronounce at this age." She told him pointedly but at her suggestion, the former Slytherin just scowled further to himself and answered her with another icy glare. _

_"I refused to be called 'DADDY', Harry! What an utterly plebian sounding form of address!" _

_Harry rolled her eyes and began to slink back out of the dining room, pausing just for a moment to plant a kiss onto the top of Garrett and Gabriel's tossled mane of silver blonde hair. _

_"Your father is an arrogant...pompous…Slytherin prick."_

_"Bite me, Scar-head."_

_"In your dreams, Ferret-face." _

_Gabriel blinked in the middle of his parent's familiar banter and smiled innocently at his father. _

_"…Fe—wet…Face?"_

_"………"_

_Harry realized her mistake and cringed, looking back up and offering Draco a sheepish smile. _

_"Uhm…Whoops? Sorry that just slipped out—"_

_"…………Come here, Potter!"_

_The Malfoy Mistress paled, winced and scrambled out of the dining room just as Draco growled and chased right after her form, his shout s and her laughter echoing throughout the entire Manor._

* * *

"_Harry, do you mind? I kind of need some time to think to myself." He drawled, trying his best to keep the irritation from his voice._

_Harry ignored him and walked right up to him from behind, grinning mischievously as she wrapped her slender arms affectionately around his waist and pressed herself against his back. Draco stiffened and was just about to disentangle her arms around him when something green and white distracted him out of the corner of his eye._

_Fusing his eyebrows together, he turned his head slightly to the side – his eyes immediately widening in incredulity when he was met with the face of a very poorly made green-and-white sock puppet with black markings for eyes and a mouth. It took him about five more seconds to realize that the sock puppet was attached to Harry's left hand and that she was using it to move the puppet's mouth._

"_Hello, Father! I'm your firstborn son! I reckon you'll be proud of me! I want to be in Slytherin when I grow up and I want to be exactly like you!" __Harry had spoken up in a ridiculously high-pitched, falsetto voice as she moved the puppet's mouth that Draco couldn't prevent a surprised laugh._

"_Potter, what the bloody hell—"_

"_I'm going to be Head Boy and Quidditch Captain and I'm going to be a POMPOUS ARSE. Just like YOU, Father! You're going to be so proud of me!"__ She continued, holding back a laugh when Draco's eyes twitched at the words 'pompous arse'._

"_Excuse me—"_

_Harry cut him off by holding up another sock puppet with her other hand along the right side of Draco's head – this time the sock was red and gold – and distracted him by making it speak up again in another falsetto voice._

"_I want to be in Gryffindor, Father! I'm going to be exactly like my mother – she was so much better than you at everything! I'm going to be good in Quidditch; I'm going to be an incredible duelist! I'm going to beat my twin brother every single time like Mother beat you!" _

_Draco was trying – and failing – to glare at her in the middle of all his mirthful laughing__._

* * *

_"So let me make sure I understand this activity correctly. You want me to pick up that quill, as if __I __were pregnant, exactly the way my wife would? As in…If I were her?" Draco drawled slowly, his eyes gleaming mischievously that Jaimee felt her own eyes narrowing in suspicion when she recognized the Slytherin smirk on her husband's handsome face._

_Dorothy nodded and smiled cheerfully again, looking up and giving the other watching couples a nod of encouragement. "Yes, Master Malfoy… __Exactly __the way your wife would. That way…All of the men in this room can learn to appreciate the hardships your wives go through." She explained, much to the disgruntled grumbling of most of the other husbands around the room._

_When she turned back to look at Draco however, she was surprised to find that instead of bending down as she expected, the Malfoy Head was smirking smugly at his wife's glaring face. To Harry's utter disbelief – and the amusement of many men in the room – Draco arched an eyebrow, lifted a single hand and pointed in an exaggeratingly demure manner to the quill on the floor._

_He feigned a ridiculously whiny version of what he meant to be Jaimee's high-pitched, feminine voice and shot her a smile while pretending to flutter his eyelids at her._

"_Oh Draaaaaaaco….My breasts are starting to hurt again! Can you pick up that quill for me…__PLEEEEEEEEEEASE?"_

_A gasp of insult escaped Harry's lips and she felt her eyes narrowing slowly into very tiny slits, her entire vision swarming with __RED._

"_I DO NOT SOUND LIKE THAT, MALFOY!" _

_Deaf to the amused laughter of all the other couples in the room – including Dorothy, Neville and Luna's – Harry clenched her hands angrily into tight fists, bared her teeth and let out a snarl of anger. She launched herself at her husband's form – immediately causing Draco's eyes to widen as he stopped laughing, let out a high-pitched, nervous yelp and ducked as she jumped at him._

"_MALFOY, YOU POMPOUS, ARROGANT, INSENSITIVE, FERRET-FACED BRAT! I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AND FEED YOU TO A HIPPOGRIFF!"_

* * *

_"I love you…"_

_And just like that, Harry foot froze in half-step._

_Slowly, she set it back down and stood with her back to him in long, agonizing silence. Draco watched her carefully, ignoring the weird stares and laughs he knew he was already receiving from the people passing him._

_After what seemed like an eternity, she finally turned around and forced herself to look at him, her beautiful green eyes slowly widening in shock when they came to rest upon his face._

_He was wearing a pair of thick, horn-framed square glasses but that wasn't what had caused her to react that way. His sleek blonde hair had been charmed into bright neon orange curls and numerous freckles had been plastered onto his pale cheeks. He offered her a hesitant smile, showing her his two, huge front teeth._

"_Please forgive me, Harry."_

_She stared at him with a blank, unblinking expression on her face, one of her eyebrows raised up higher than the other in stunned confusion. For a minute, she glared at him as though he was crazy and Draco had almost thought his last ploy failed when she shook her head and buried her face into her hands._

_As though snapping out of a trance-like state, he watched as she looked back up at him – the corners of her lips finally twitching upwards with a hint of helpless, yielding mirth. _

"_Malfoy…You stupid…silly…git…"_

* * *

_"NO!!!!!!!" _

Just as Max had turned away from what he had already assumed to be the dead, bleeding body of Jaimee on the ground, he froze mid-stride when he heard her loud, furious voice shouting at him from behind. Whirling around in shock, his eyes widened in disbelief as he was met with the sight of Jaimee crawling back up onto her feet, her movements shaky and weak but nevertheless filled with an odd sense of conviction and determination that he had never seen in her before.

"Potter…Just _what _do you think you're doing now? Haven't you had enough…?"

Hermione and Ron both looked on in anxiety and watched with bated breath from across the room as Harry winced again but somehow managed to pick herself up off the ground – her arms and legs barely able to support her upright as she had to stumble a couple of times to remain standing.

The diamond necklace still clutched tightly within the palm of her hand, Jaimee managed to straighten herself up and raised her free hand to her face – using the simple maneuver to smirk weakly at Max's shocked expression before wiping the remaining droplets of blood from her lips.

When he seemed unable to do anything else to her in those next few moments except blink repeatedly and gape at her, her smirk widened and raised her free hand again, wiping at the droplets of blood that were dripping all over her pale face. "Well…?" She raised an eyebrow and sneered at his stunned expression, using his momentary shock to take several steps towards him.

"I'm not dead yet, Thornton…Far from it. Is that the best you can do…? Frankly…I've gotten worse from fighting with those pathetic suitors during my hunting season…These wounds are _nothing." _As though to emphasize her point, she smirked and took another step toward him, her eyes going up over Max's flushed face to stare briefly at the nearly completed blood crystal hovering above them.

She blinked and glanced back calmly at him, sparing one look at his speechless expression before she scoffed at him, trailing her mocking green eyes up and down his frame in disdain.

"Eh…What more _could _I have expected from a _SQUIB _anyway…? You know…Draco was right all along about you… You're nothing but a sad…pathetic…_wannabe _wizard anyway who probably spent his entire _LIFE_ moping constantly about his sad existence and how much everyone always picks on him…"

When she noticed the definite way in which Max's hands were beginning to fist themselves in growing anger at her mocking words, Harry's eyes brightened even more and she began to speak in a much louder voice – purposely curling her lips into a _perfect _form of the patented Malfoy smirk.

"Well…? It's true isn't it…? How _SAD_ is it really that you have to resort to _STEALING _magic in order to gain some form of self-respect for yourself…?! You're a sad, poor excuse of a man, Max…I only hope your fiancée over there doesn't complain about the fact that you're probably a poor excuse of a man in the bedroom as well…Even as a woman…I'm so much more of a man than you'll ever be."

At Natasha's scandalized gasp of horror and both Wickham and Max's furious faces, Harry's eyes gleamed in triumph and she stopped to stand a couple of feet away from Max's red, seething frame – smirking wider to herself when he looked up and shot her a dangerously hissing snarl.

"_WHY YOU…ARROGANT…POMPOUS… HUSSY LITTLE BITCH! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU MALFOYS ARE ALL THE SAME… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THOSE INSULTS!" _

Overcome with maniacal anger at her words, Max raised his wand again and pointed it shakily towards Harry's frame, ignoring the way Natasha was shouting furiously behind him in shrill protests.

"_MAX! NO—"_

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!" _

Just as the brief, familiar flash of bright green magic began to emanate from the tip of Max's outstretched wand, Harry held up the diamond necklace she held in her hand used its charm to deflect his spell – holding it up at an angle away from her face such that the bright green bream of the killing curse shot up quickly away from her and began zooming up towards the red blood crystal above them.

"_Gotcha."_

Harry followed the spell up toward the crystal with her eyes and her grin widened in triumph.

As soon as he realized her plan and his terrible mistake, Max let out an angry, hair-rising growl and frantically shook his head, flicking helpless brown eyes up to watch as the bright green beam of the killing curse finally crashed itself perfectly into the blood red crystal above – successfully causing the artifact to shatter instantly into a thousand tiny shards right at the moment of impact.

"_POTTER! NO!!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BREAK THE CRYSTAL IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFUSION! YOU'LL BRING THE WHOLE SITE CRASHING DOWN ON US, YOU FOOL!!!!!!!" _

It was Richard Wickham who had screamed this time and just as Harry had turned around to look at him, the Head Healer was already rushing forward to gather his distraught son into his arms – pulling Max's form away from the altar when the entire room began to rumble and quake all around.

In his frustration, Max growled and tried desperately to struggle back against his father's arms – his crazed eyes going back up to stare at the shattered crystal pieces falling back down onto the ground. _"NO! FATHER, WAIT! B—BUT WHAT ABOUT MY MAGIC?! I—IT'S GONE! I—I WANT IT BACK, FATHER! I WANT IT BACK!" _He grunted and tried to push his father away again but Wickham took one look at the shattered crystal pieces on the floor and shook his head at him in growing panic.

"_MAX! THIS PLACE IS GOING TO COME CRASHING DOWN! FORGET THE CRYSTAL! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! COME WITH ME RIGHT NOW!" _He ignored his son's further screams and dragged him off along behind him just as the altar and the other relics around the ceremonial room all began to crumble away and disintegrate into shards of rocks and pebbles.

"_MAX! WE HAVE TO GET OUT NOW! COME ON, BABY! PLEASE!" _Natasha joined Wickham in trying to coerce Max to run out with them but he growled and shoved them both aside, falling back down onto his knees on the floor and attempting to gather the broken crystal shards into his arms.

"_I WANT MY MAGIC BACK…I'M NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT IT! NO! LET GO OF ME! FATHER!" _The rest of Max's shrill screams were eventually drowned out as Richard grabbed hold of his hand – Natasha grabbed hold of his other hand – and the two of them began dragging him off towards the exit of the room, all the while evading the rocks and boulders that were beginning to fall around them.

"_HARRY!"_

Still standing right in the middle of the altar, Harry had just managed to glance briefly at Hermione and Ron's forms beckoning frantically to her from the other side of the room. Just as she was about to run over to them, however, the large _TIET _symbol below her feet suddenly began to glow a bright eerie red. Before she knew what was happening, the ground suddenly gave out beneath her feet and she screamed in horror as she nearly plunged down onto the rocky pit below.

Closing her eyes tightly, Harry clenched her fingers onto the rocky edge of the pit around her and held on desperately for her life – wincing as she tried to pull herself back over ledge enough so she could make out Ron and Hermione's forms as they tried to run their way over to her.

_"HARRY! HOLD ON! WE'RE COMING!" _

Ron grunted as he somehow managed to evade one last boulder coming down on him from the ceiling. As he twisted his way around the falling rocks all around them and managed to reach the outer circular rim around the pit, he stopped when he was met with a bright red magical barrier.

"_RON! STOP! DON'T GO THROUGH THERE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" _

Hermione heard the frantic worry in Harry's shouts as she stopped right behind Ron's form and stared at her in confusion, raising her wand and wincing as she blasted the rocks and boulders that continued to come crashing down on them from the very ceiling of the large ceremonial room.

"_HARRY! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS BARRIER TO GET TO YOU! ARE YOU MAD?!" _She watched in horror as Harry latched on tighter onto the ledge of the pit again, blinking back up at them and giving both her best friends a fierce, warning glare.

"_STAY RIGHT THERE! TH—THAT BARRIER IS ONE SIDED! I—IF YOU GO THROUGH…YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET BACK OUT!" _She winced as her fingers nearly slipped again, causing both Ron and Hermione to cringe in dismay as they were forced to watch Harry struggling to keep herself up.

"_WH—WHAT ABOUT YOU?! THIS PLACE IS FALLING APART!! WE CAN'T LEAVE YOU—"_

Harry cut off the rest of Ron's protests with a weak but firmly reassuring look, indicating to the nearby exit with her eyes. "_I—I'LL BE FINE…GO AND GET HELP BOTH OF YOU! B—BYRON AND THE OTHERS SH—SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW, THEY MIGHT KNOW A WAY TO BREAK THE BARRIER! GO! GO NOW, I DON'T THINK I CAN HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!" _She winced again and at her words, Ron nodded frantically and grabbed Hermione's hand when she looked as though she was about to protest.

"_NO!!! NO, HARRY!!! WE'RE NOT LEAVING YOU!!!!!! NO—"_

_"HERMIONE, I PROMISE I'LL BE FINE! GO!!! PLEASE HURRY!!!!!!" _

Ron literally had to drag a sobbing Hermione away towards the exit as the brunette continued to struggle hysterically against him, her wide brown eyes focused intently onto Harry's small, frail hands barely able to clutch onto the ledge of the large, circular pit right in the middle of the barrier.

_"HARRY!!!!!! PLEASE HOLD ON!!!!!!!" _

* * *

"Draco! _DRACO! _Wake up, damn it! _WAKE UP! _You're scaring me, _WAKE UP! WAKE—YARGH!" _

A thoroughly pale and distraught Anton nearly yelped out loud in shock when his older cousin's lifeless figure suddenly jerked awake from the ground – followed by Draco's eyes snapping wide open in immediate alertness and his flashing silver orbs darting furiously around them in realization.

_Harry…Where's Harry…Where is she?!_

Ignoring Anton's relieved exclamations and the fact that their surroundings were beginning to quake very violently as rocks and boulders began falling down around them, Draco shot up effortlessly back up to his feet and yanked his younger cousin up by the front of his robes.

"Anton…_WHAT'S HAPPENED?! WHERE'S HARRY?!" _

Anton gaped at him and blinked rapidly at the other Malfoy son in stunned disbelief, his eyes filling with confusion as he took in his older cousin's strangely regenerated state. "D—Draco?! I—I thought you were sick?! What the hell happened, are you okay? What's going on—"

Draco's eyes flashed in panic and he shook his head frantically at all of Anton's questions, glancing around their surroundings again and paling in horror when he remembered where they were. "Harry…Where's Harry, Anton?! Where's my wife, where is she?! I have to get to her _NOW!" _

He couldn't explain the painful and thoroughly suffocating squeezing of heart against his chest as he said this. Caught up in his worries, he didn't even realize he had regained full strength until several seconds later – when Anton blinked stupidly up at him again and gestured to his standing form.

"D—Draco…? Y—you're…Better?! I—I don't understand…D—do you have your magic back now? C—can you stand—" Draco didn't bother waiting for the rest of his sentence as he reached out and grabbed Anton's wand out of his pocket, raising it up and holding it at one of the falling rocks nearby.

He flicked it once and almost instantly, the rock disintegrated into a cloud of dust.

_Oh god…I have my magic back…That means…Harry…Harry is…_ Draco's hands shook as he turned back around and met Anton's confused expression again, his bright mercury eyes beginning to widen in horrified realization. _"_Oh god…That git…That stupid git…I can't believe her…Where is she—"

_"DRACO! DRACO, OH THANK MERLIN! IS BYRON WITH YOU?! ARE THE OTHER UNSPEAKABLES HERE YET?! HARRY'S STILL BACK THERE! WE HAVE TO HURRY BEFORE—" _

Draco blanched and looked up just in time see both Ron and Hermione racing down the other end of the corridor towards them – both former Gryffindors' faces flushed with a mixture of panic and immense fear. When they saw the furious expression on the Malfoy Head's face, neither of them barely had any chance to react before Draco had growled and surged forward, seizing Ron right by the front of his robes and slamming the other man violently against the nearby wall in a heated fury.

_"WEASLEY, YOU'D BETTER TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK MY WIFE IS RIGHT NOW! WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE'S HARRY AND WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU TWO WITH HER?!" _

Ron opened his mouth to answer him but ended up choking and coughing instead when Draco's grip inadvertently tightened around his throat. Raising her wand again to block off a couple more rocks that came crashing towards them, it was Hermione who answered his question for him.

"Draco…Sh—she's…She's right back there in the ceremonial room… B—but…She's s—still trapped in some kind of…magical barrier of some sort…We—we don't know how to g—get her out…She's b—barely holding on! We—we have to d—do something before she f—falls—and—"

Draco paled and drowned out the rest of Hermione's broken words.

Completely deaf to Anton's quelling glares at him at this point, he seized his younger cousin's wand again, turned right around sharply and tore right through the corridor from which Ron and Hermione had come from. Their sharp, loud screams echoed loudly through the long dark tunnel after him but Draco barely heard them, his ears filled with nothing but the loud pounding of his heart.

_HARRY!_

* * *

_I…I can't hold on much longer…I…I th—think…I'm going to…F—Fall…_

Harry closed her eyes and desperately tried to prevent the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheek. Looking back up at the large shards of rocks and boulders that continued to fall all around her, she grimaced in exhaustion and tightened her fingers around the pit's ledge again.

The excruciating pain from the bleeding wound on her left shoulder certainly did nothing to ease her efforts and without meaning to, the fingers of her left hand suddenly gave out on her – causing Jaimee to scream again as she soon found herself dangling from the ledge with only one hand.

She blinked another batch of terrified tears away and flicked her blurry gaze down to the pit below – her eyes widening in fear when she caught sight of the pointed rocks that threatened to meet her when she fell. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tore her eyes away from the horrifying sight and flicked them back up, her attention drawn to the chandelier of red rubies directly above her head.

Most of the entire ceremonial room had practically crumbled away at this point and even now, as she clutched on desperately for dear life onto the pit's ledge, she winced as more and more rocks and boulders continue to deteriorate around her – shattering into tiny pebbles along the stone ground.

_I…I can't…Hold on…Anymore…_

Biting her lip, she tried desperately to tighten her remaining fingers onto the ledge again. Taking a deep breath, she flicked her gaze back up just in time to see the chandelier dangling above her head teetering dangerously away as though it was just about to come crashing down right on top of her – the sight of which finally bringing a look of helpless, surrendering defeat to her pale features.

_Oh god…I…I'm…Going…To…Die…I'm…Scared…Draco…_

* * *

"_If it helps…I'm scared too."_

_Blinking in surprise, Harry turned wide eyes to her husband's calm features and watched as Draco simply met her gaze with a weak, helpless smirk. He sighed heavily before lifting her hand towards his lips, giving the shaking limbs a brief kiss before he continued._

"_I've been a man all my life and I don't know __anything__ about being a father…I'm bloody terrified." He told her and he followed this up with another wry comment. "Remember, I'm a Slytherin too so I'm probably thrice as terrified as you'll ever be, Potter…" He quipped lightly, successfully eliciting a weak laugh from Harry when she heard his words._

"_That's true…You __were __terrified of a Hippogriff."_

"_Shut up, scar-head."_

_They both chuckled at this little exchange before Draco soon sobered again and tightened his fingers around hers. He looked down at her so that he was staring directly into her eyes. "Harry…I don't think __anyone __knows how to be a 'good mother' or 'good father'. I'm just as scared and nervous about this entire thing as you are…" He tucked another strand of her long hair behind her ear again, feeling a wonderful ache of tenderness in his chest as he stared into her beautiful face._

"_But everything is going to be __okay…__ You know why…? Because I'm going to be right here with you through all this…And we're going to go through this together. The __two __of us. I __promise…__" _

* * *

_I'm going to be right here…With you…Through all this…_

Harry felt a small, weak smile curling onto her lips as the batch of helpless tears finally began to fall from her eyes, strolling gently down her pale, blood-stained cheeks.

_And we're going to go through this… Together…The two us… I promise…_

She closed her eyes and allowed his beautiful words to echo softly in her head over and over again until she finally felt a sense of calm enveloping her – drowning out the painful, fearful pounding of her heart in her chest and the sound of the rocks and boulders crashing down all around her.

_The two of us…Just…The two of us…Together…I promise…Draco…_

As she heard the unmistakable sound of the large ruby chandelier finally falling apart and beginning to crash down onto her frail form, Jaimee clenched her eyes shut and held back a choked-up scream and sob – her fingers tightening desperately around the ledge in mere helpless defeat.

_"…REDUCTO!!!!!!!"_

* * *

Blinking away the mistiness in her eyes, Jaimee managed to flick her glassy green eyes up in a mixture of shock and stunned disbelief. She stared tearfully at the sight of Draco storming into the ceremonial room towards her, his wand outstretched and a glint of fierce determination in his eyes.

He had pointed his wand at the chandelier hovering above her and jumped back for a split second as the chandelier shattered at the force of his spell – shards of rubies and glass spraying all over the room. Once the chandelier had shattered completely onto the ground, he raised his wand over himself in protection from the falling rocks and rushed right through the barrier towards her form.

Ignoring her tearful protests, he knelt down by the pit's ledge and reached out to clasp his hand tightly over her wrist – peering down at her and managing to give her a halfhearted smirk.

"I—I had a feeling you would get your arse kicked, Potter…"

Jaimee could only stare back at him in a mixture of fear, worry and heartbroken relief.

"D—Draco…I—I—c—can't h—hold on m—much longer—J—just…Go…B—before—"

At her words, Draco took one look at her defeated expression and shook his head stubbornly at her, his eyes flashing angrily as he tightened his fingers around her wrist. "What the bloody hell are you talking about _now, _you stupid Gryffindork?! Don't you _DARE _give up on me now, Harry! Don't you _DARE…_Stop being such a goddamn hero for once in your life! Come on…Get up out of there!"

He tightened his hand around her frail arm once more and slowly began to pull her back up the ledge, wrapping his arms tightly around her bruised and battered body for support once she had managed to get back up onto her feet. Wincing and holding back the wave of emotions that were flooding into her chest, Harry cringed in excruciating pain as Draco scooped her up into his arms and held her tightly against him – his arms going to wrap protectively around her broken, bloodied form.

"Oh god, Harry…C—come on…I'm getting you out of here…"

He tried to keep his voice from shaking when he caught sight of the wounds and bruises all over her body and tightened his arms around her small frame, darting his eyes around furiously for the nearest exit. When he found none – and that he could no longer step back through the magical barrier circled around them – Draco's eyes suddenly widened in belated realization.

_Oh god…No…We're trapped…I can't save her…I c—can't do anything…No…_Draco swallowed the dry lump forming in his throat and tightened his arms around Jaimee in complete helplessness, darting his gray eyes around the room again and again as he tried to search for a possible way out.

_There has to be a way out…There just has to be!_

Draco tried in vain to flick his wand several times against the magical barrier around them in desperation but sensing his efforts, Jaimee just shook her head weakly at him.

"Th—the…b—barrier…C—can only b—be broken from the o—outside, Draco…Th—there's…No way out…W—we're…Stuck here…A—and this place is already falling apart…" Her voice broke off as she said this and if anything, her shaky whisper made Draco's arms tighten even more around her.

"I—I'm sorry…Draco…I'm sorry…For…Everything…"

Again, he shook his head firmly at her words and forced out a weak grin – all the while trying to ignore the terrified pounding of his heart as more and more rocks and boulders began to crash down around them. Backing them both away into the very center of the room just inches away from the ledge, Draco raised his wand and held it up to protect them both from the falling rocks all around.

"Why are you saying that _NOW_, Harry…? You can apologize and grovel at my feet later!"

He tried to hide his growing nervousness with a weak, teasing laugh but Harry heard it in his voice anyway. She reached up and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, burying her tearful face into his chest. When he felt her trembling in his arms, Draco felt his own eyes beginning to glisten in fear and he could do nothing else but lean down and press a shaky kiss onto the top of her head.

_Merlin…Help us…Please…_

"_DRACO! HARRY! OVER HERE! QUICK!" _

Tensing up and letting out a shaky breath of exasperation, Draco snapped his wide gray eyes open and looked up, watching with immediate relief as Byron, Spencer, Nicholas and about a dozen more Unspeakable Agents and Ministry Aurors all began rushing into the site towards them.

One look at the mixture of immense gratitude and irritated exasperation on his older cousin's face was all it took for Byron to offer the Malfoy Head a sheepish smile and grimace.

"Sorry I'm late, Draco…I got a little held up at the Ministry…Hang on both of you! This place is falling apart! We'll need to take this magical barrier down first! Is Harry okay?!"

Draco didn't bother answering Byron's question as he lowered his gaze back down to the trembling bundle cradled in his arms. His eyebrows creased in concern when he realized that Jaimee seemed to have already lost consciousness and had already collapsed in a dead, exhausted faint.

* * *

_"Master Malfoy! Over here! May we have a word please?! Do you have any comment?! What happened in there and who was responsible for all the pureblood attacks?!"_

Ignoring the furiously flashing cameras and the dozens of news reporters rushing in and out of the premises around them, Draco's hands shook as he very gently knelt down and laid out Jaimee's bruised and battered body onto one of the nearby stretchers outside the Ceremonial site that night.

About a dozen more Ministry Officials and Healers had gathered around the small area in a state of bustling panic but Draco remained completely oblivious to them all – his attention focused completely on his wife's pale, unmoving form laid out before him in such a strange lifeless state.

It took a couple more minutes of him staring desperately at her motionless face as he waited for her to wake up but eventually, to his immense relief, Harry's eyes slowly began to flutter open – revealing to him those beautiful, bright emerald green orbs that he loved so much to stare into.

The minute she saw Draco's worried gaze resting intently on her blood-stained face, Harry blinked once before managing a weak, teasing smile at him, her eyes softening gently when she noted the fear and the mild anger that was slowly beginning to seep into those intense, mercury gray orbs.

Even before she could ask him what he wanted to say, Draco spoke up for her – his voice shaking slightly with anger as he leaned down and wiped gently at the blood on the side of her face.

"Y—you…_Stupid _git…Wh—what in _Merlin's _name did you think you were doing in there alone, Potter…? D—do you have any idea – y—you could have gotten yourself _killed! _You stupid prick—" He cut himself off abruptly and clenched his hands into tight fists, his fingernails digging into his palm.

"D—Draco…I…I'm…I'm sorry…F—for everything…I…I've m—made…so many mistakes…I—I don't know how I could possible m—make up for them all…I'm…so…so…Sorry…" She paused in the middle of her sentence and took a deep breath to calm the rapid and painful beating of her heart.

"…I—I've been so incredibly horrible at all this…I've b—been such a h—horrible wife to you…A horrible mother to the twins…I—I've been selfish…I don't know what else to say…" She stopped and winced slightly when the wound on her shoulder shot another sudden twinge of pain through her body.

When she managed to open her eyes and raise her uncertain gaze back up at Draco's face again, she was surprised to see her husband peering right back down at her with a helpless smirk on his face – his eyes alight with a faint glow of amusement intermingled with gentle admonishment.

"Eh…What the hell, Potter…I didn't expect you to get it right the first time anyway…You were bound to make a few mistakes along the way…You're not _that _perfect…_Idiot._" He drawled back slowly with a soft, halfhearted chuckle, leaning down so he could place a chaste kiss onto her soft cheek.

Harry blinked and stared up at him in uncertainty, her bright green eyes watching hesitantly as Draco leaned down again and used a single hand to brush back the lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. Once her gaze had locked intently with his again, the former Slytherin arched an eyebrow and tapped her gently on the nose, smirking pointedly at the look of confusion on her beautiful face.

"But then again…Wasn't that what this was all about…?" Again, he leaned down but this time he pressed his forehead against hers, reaching a strong hand down to intertwine their fingers together.

"You make your mistakes…I make mine…Wasn't that what _you_ taught _me_ all along…?"

Unable to say anything else from the painful dryness of her throat, Harry's eyes began to glisten with tears again and she nodded slowly at his words, reaching both her arms up and wrapping them tightly around his neck. When neither of them said anything else for those next few tender moments, she closed her eyes again and finally allowed one last tear to slip down her pale cheeks.

_"Malfoy… You… Silly…Slytherin…Git…"_

* * *

**A/N: ***Leans back against the backrest of her seat and takes a long, steady breath* Phew…At last! :D

It won't be long now…There are exactly _**THREE **_**chapters left in this story**! One of them is the epilogue so I hope you all tune in for those last few moments! The plot's just about resolved now so what's left is just to tie up the few remaining loose strings… If you know what I mean. *wink-wink*

**Next Chapter: **Some sweet, touching moments and resolutions in the hospital. This includes a little bit of Anton/Ginny…A little bit of Vincent/Byron…a LOT of Draco/Jaimee with the twins. :D

Hope you all stay with me until the end! **DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW MMKAY? Cheers! **


	19. Anything but Perfect

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenesand **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: Lots of love everyone! :D

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Anything but Perfect **

_Am I…Dead?_

Her eyelids heavy and a definite ache weighing down her entire body, Harry grimaced and forced her eyes to squint open – blinking up weakly at the bright white lights of the room around her. Just several inches to her right, she felt the warm, reassuring presence of someone right beside her and tried to sit up, fighting back her exhaustion as she struggled to sit her body up onto the bed.

_"D—Draco…?"_

She winced when she heard her own voice come out weak and raspy, squinting rapidly as she tried to blink away the sleepiness from her eyes. When she didn't get an immediate response from this, she sat up straighter and spoke again in an uncertain but otherwise clearer whisper.

_"Draco…?"_

Feeling an immediate jerk of surprise right in the palm of her hand, Harry stiffened momentarily and tried to turn quickly to the source of the movement. Unfortunately, the sudden movement seemed too much for her at the moment and she ended up wincing and clenching her eyes shut again, reaching one of her hands up to massage her aching temples.

_Ugh…I feel like a train wreck…_She moved her hands down to massage her eyelids. She waited a couple more seconds doing this before sighing and forcing them back open – blinking rapidly in genuine surprise moments later when she came upon the tender scene right beside her.

Her entire hospital bed looked completely _clean_ and _white_ save for the single, dark-cloaked figure of one silently sleeping Draco Malfoy leaning over just by the very edge of the mattress. His arms were folded right beside her pillow and his forehead was nestled uncomfortably against them while the rest of his lean frame remained seated on the wooden chair that was placed right beside her bed.

The sight of him brought such an overwhelming wave of unexplainable mixed emotions welling up in her chest that Harry couldn't do anything but smile weakly at him, reaching a frail hand and gently running her fingers through his soft blonde hair. Draco shifted slightly in his sleep and turned his head, inadvertently allowing her to see the uncomfortable frown on his handsome face.

One look at the dark circles under his eyes told her that he hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep even before she had woken up that night and that thought alone worried her as she stared at him. His eyebrows were furrowed together in a slight scowl as he slept and his left hand was clutching tightly onto her right, their fingers tightly and comfortably intertwined together.

Her eyes wide and her throat too constricted to speak, Harry stared silently at their intertwined fingers in amazement, her fingers unknowingly tightening around his. Under the bright light of the otherwise empty private hospital room around them, the matching wedding bands on their fingers sparkled beautifully beside each other – almost as though they sensed her eyes on them.

Harry stared silently at them, her eyes darkening in guilt and slowly building self-contempt.

_I can't believe I almost let us go…What the hell was I thinking…? _

She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and reached another hand out again, using it to caress the beautiful silver wedding band that rested on Draco's finger. He had never taken it off since the day she had first given it to him and the sight of it now reminded her so much of why she had fallen in love with him in the first place – and that her husband had, in fact, never strayed from her.

Unable to control the mistiness that was beginning to form in her eyes, Harry bit back another smile and leaned down slowly towards him, placing a sweet, loving kiss onto the top of his head. When she made to pull away, she was surprised to realize that the hand he had around hers suddenly tightened and she looked down in surprise to find Draco's beautiful mercury orbs peering back at her.

They stared at each other's eyes for a long time – misty emerald green blinking rapidly against intense, smoldering silver.

Draco eventually broke the silence first. The corners of his lips quirked upwards into a small, teasing smile and he reached a hand out to stroke her cheek, moving his smooth, elegant fingers along her face until it was wrapped tenderly around her nape.

"Hey…How are you feeling…? Better…?" He asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned in and placed a soothing kiss onto her cheek. Harry blushed slightly at this but nodded carefully and watched as Draco sat back up, leaning back against the backrest of his chair.

He blinked sleepily to himself for several times before yawning and turning back to look at her, his hand crawling back down to intertwine with hers. Harry bit her lip and continued to watch him in hesitant silence – the look on her face a mixture of uncertainty, doubt and self-humility.

"Was…W—was I asleep long…?"

Draco looked up at her question and managed a crooked grin at her, nodding as he brought her trembling hand up to his lips and gave each finger a reassuring kiss. "Just a bit…You were out like a light for around two days now…Snape had to inject a couple of potions into you for all that blood you lost." He explained, waiting until Harry nodded to herself in understanding before he continued.

"The rest of the pureblood victims are scheduled to leave the hospital tomorrow afternoon…They've all fully recovered and are completely back to normal. I've already talked to Blaise…Cunningham and some of my other friends just last night while you were asleep." He told her quietly, watching as Harry nodded again and settled herself back down against her pillows when she felt exhaustion overtake her again.

A slightly worried frown forming its way back onto his handsome features, Draco stood up from his seat and pulled the blankets tighter over her heavily bandaged frame. He waited until she had nodded to signify she was comfortable again before he sat back down and continued to speak.

"Black…Granger…Weasley…Longbottom…And the rest of your friends were just here this morning. They should be back a little later on to check up on you again…" When Harry smiled at the mention of her friends, Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes at her and give her a sardonic smirk.

"Weasley seemed particularly interested in trying to land me a punch to the face when he found out about the whole 'Natasha' incident before all this…" He raised an eyebrow pointedly at her but his words accomplished nothing but bring a sudden flare of anger and hardness into her eyes.

"Draco… What's happened…? To Max and Wickham…And Natasha, I mean…? Where are they now…? Did they manage to get away…? How?" Her voice shook slightly as she asked this and Draco sighed as he spoke, reaching out and placing a hand once more over her shaking fingers.

He fingers wrapped tightly around hers again before he spoke, his eyes suddenly hardening and his usual sneer of contempt forming on his face.

"Fortunately, Byron and the other Unspeakables were able to catch them before they managed to escape the premises. They're in Azkaban right now…Serving their sentences…As well as a dozen lawsuits from dozens of England's strongest families." Draco sneered wider as he said this and if anything, the sheer sadistic amusement in his voice caused Harry's eyebrows to fuse together in a frown of suspicion at him.

"You didn't do anything to hurt them…Did you, Draco…?"

Purposely choosing to ignore her question, Draco flicked his eyes back up at her and smirked calmly, one of his elegant eyebrows arching up in mock innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about, Harry…I merely paid Thornton a friendly visit in his cell last night while you were asleep. He sends his best regards by the way…Did you know that the cells in Azkaban were all sound proof?"

Harry's eyebrows rose up further and her eyes widened in horrified disbelief.

"_Draco—"_

Draco's smirk widened even more and he twirled his wand around the fingers of his free hand.

"Prisoners can scream all they want in there and none of the Azkaban guards could hear anything…It's a rather interesting and sort of barbaric set-up if you think about it." He paused and sighed dramatically, ignoring his wife's warning glare as he tucked his wand back into his pocket.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy…_What _did you do…?"

Draco's smirk slowly faded away and was replaced by one of his charming smiles, his gray eyes lighting up and the dimple on his left cheek in clear view. He refused to say anything else and leaned in to kiss her cheek again, sniggering when her glare merely hardened at his evasive response.

When after several more minutes of her glaring questioningly at him and Draco evading her queries further by grinning at her, Harry finally sighed and leaned back down against her pillow again. She shook her head to herself and reached a hand up to brush away her long hair from her face.

"I'm sorry…I should have listened to you from the beginning."

As soon as he noticed the guilt in her words, Draco looked up and stared at her in mild confusion, watching as Harry sighed again and slowly raised her green eyes to meet his. She blanched to herself and shook her head, her fingers squeezing his imploringly as she continued.

"I should have…Listened to you when you said not to trust Max right away." Draco's eyes dawned in realization at this but Harry continued anyway, shaking her head so that he wouldn't interrupt her. "I suppose…Even after all that training…I'm still just as…_Naïve_ and _clueless_ and _reckless _as ever when it comes to judging other people…I can be such a complete idiot at times." She sounded bitter as she said this and at her words, Draco rolled his eyes and reached out to tilt her face up to his.

"Potter—" Draco began, smirking to himself when he met the surprise in her beautiful green eyes. "—I _know _that you will always be – as you say – a _naïve_, _clueless_ and _reckless_ little child who runs around thinking that the world is filled with genuinely _'good' _people like you…I've known that all along even before I married you and even before when we were still enemies back at Hogwarts."

Harry frowned and made a move to interrupt him but Draco continued away, his fingers tightening around her chin. "I doubt that part of you is _ever _going to change and I'm _more _than certain that it's the one reason you were sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin in the first place." He drawled pointedly, smirking to himself when Harry's eyes seemed to flash in annoyance.

"I don't think—"

"_NEVERTHELESS. _You should know that it is _precisely _that certain...reckless…optimistic…_ NAIVETE _about you that makes you all the more so bloody _lovable_ in the first place." Draco stopped and held back a smile when Harry froze instantly at his words, her cheeks flushing in immediate embarrassment as she glanced back up and stared at him as though unable to believe him.

"Er…What?"

He chuckled at the gaping expression on her face and shook his head again, reaching out a hand to brush back the long lock of black hair that had fallen into her eyes. "It's _because _you're so bloody reckless and naïve that…Well…You're _you, _Harry…And quite frankly…I don't think I'd have you any other way…" He leaned in and silenced the rest of her protests with a quick chaste kiss to her lips, pulling back a moment later to watch the definite blush rushing into her pale cheeks.

"Besides…" Draco smirked again as he pulled away from her and leaned back against the backrest of his seat. "One of us as naïve and the other one as highly suspicious…I would think that's a pretty good balance in itself anyway, Harry…You just tell me when I'm wrong…And I'll do the same."

His words seemed to sink in and accomplished his intention as Harry finally smiled at him, her green eyes softening and her beautiful face lighting up in genuine understanding. "If I didn't say it before…I'll say it again, 'Co…You can be _such _a melodramatic prick sometimes. Are _you _a girl?"

Draco's smile immediately became highly suggestive at her teasing remark and his gray eyes dropped down to the first two unclasped buttons of her white pajama top. "You _really _want to have this discussion again, Potter…? I can point out a _FEW _subtle differences to you just to prove I'm _not._" He followed his comment up with a rather perverted leer at the curves of her body – immediately causing his wife to flush dark red, growl and reach a hand out to punch him hard on his left shoulder.

"Perverted _BASTARD!"_

"Repressed _BITCH!"_

In spite of herself, Harry let out a genuine laugh and punched his shoulder again, earning herself an irritated glare from her husband as he caught her hand. When it looked as though Draco was going to tease her again, Harry beat him to it and took one look around the empty hospital room again, her eyebrows furrowing together in a frown when she realized one more peculiar observation.

"'Co…Where's the family…? Are they here in the hospital too…?

Draco took one look at the slightly disappointed expression on her face and chuckled, reaching a hand out to tilt her face back up to meet his teasing smile again. "My grandparents were just here…They just went to the Ministry right now to talk to the officials and some reporters about everything that's happened." Harry nodded at this and waited as Draco explained himself further.

"My parents…Well…They were just here about two hours ago. They went back to the Manor to run some quick errands and should be back pretty soon…The rest of the others are just hanging around the hospital. I believe I just saw Byron and Anton sitting in the waiting area outside."

Again, Harry nodded at his words and gave him a grateful smile. "I'd really like to see them soon…Where are the twins…? Are they alright? Have you seen them yet…?" Draco was just about to answer her question when something ate at the back of Harry's mind again and she suddenly jerked in her place –drawing her husband's immediate concern as he shot up in alert and placed a hand on her.

"What? What's wrong, Harry? Do you need anything—"

"_Draco! _Th—the…The _necklace! _The diamond necklace you gave me! I—it's gone! I—I…I—"

She stopped immediately when Draco's frowned vanished and he began chuckling at her panic, reaching slowly into the pocket of his robes and pulling out in his hands a thin, beautiful silver chain. Harry's shoulders instantly relaxed when she caught sight of it but she soon stiffened and began to blush again when Draco had reached up and began to clasp the necklace gently around her neck.

"You had it in your hand the whole time, love…" He paused to drop a searing kiss onto the nape of her neck before he pulled back, smirking when he noted he definite way in which she had shivered at the intimate contact of his lips against her skin. "I just took it for a short while so I could have the chain fixed and the diamond charm cleaned...It was soaked in your blood." He told her softly.

Harry's eyes darkened at this and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat again, reaching her hand up and wrapping her fingers around the diamond charm once more.

"I—I…Th—thank you…I thought…I was afraid that I'd—"

As her cheeks flushed darker and she continued to fight for the right words to say, Draco took that opportunity to admire her beautiful features – hiding a smile as his eyes lingered intently on her eyes, her pale, pink-tinged cheeks and the way her hair fell teasingly right over her face.

"A—and…I—I…I just…I c—can't…I'm—"

"Do you have _any _idea how much I love you, you stupid Gryffindork?"

Harry paused right in the middle of her sentence and stared at him. Before she was given a chance to respond, Draco had already leaned in and caught her half-open lips in a deep, searing kiss – his hands automatically going to wrap around her waist and pulling her against his lean body.

Immediately melting against his arms, a soft moan escaped her lips and she wrapped her own arms hesitantly around his neck. She began to kiss him back, every muscle and drugged sense in her body instinctively responding to his advances. His tongue slipped in slowly into her parted lips and she moaned again, opening her mouth completely to him and surrendering herself to his ministrations.

His strong arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer, drawing her tongue into his own mouth and smirking to himself when she responded to him immediately. Their tongues battled fiercely and hungrily with each other for a long time – almost as though they were trying to reacquaint and _drown _themselves in the other's taste. Eventually, the need for air suddenly became too strong for them both and they pulled away, breathing heavily and staring intensely into the other's eyes.

Her cheeks deeply flushed and her lips bruised slightly red from his kiss, Harry stared intently into Draco's piercing gray eyes and tried to force herself to speak. "D—Draco…I…I j—just want to s—say—"

_"DADDY! MOMMY!"_

The rest of Harry's words promptly died out on her lips.

She whirled around, her bright green eyes lighting up immediately when she was greeted with the sight of a slightly exasperated Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy striding slowly into the hospital room – Garrett and Gabriel's tiny, impatiently squirming forms balanced carefully in their arms.

Following her gaze and the source of the sound, Draco's own eyes softened instantly and he watched with a similar grin on his face as his parents set both Garrett and Gabriel down onto the floor. At once, both Malfoys giggled and toddled their way right into their father's outstretched arms.

Draco winced when his sons had inadvertently knocked the wind out of him as they glomped him but eventually shook his head and chuckled, reaching down to ruffle both toddlers' mane of hair. "Hey you two squirts…How are my two handsome clones? Did you both miss me?" He broke off into a genuine laugh again when Gabriel blinked up at him and answered him with a toothy, baby smile.

"_HAS-SOM CWONE!"_

Unsure of how to react or what to say at this point, Harry just leaned back and watched the scene in growing uncertainty – a smile on her face nevertheless as she looked up and met Lucius and Narcissa's matching looks of amusement at the tender scene. When they noticed her looking at them, Narcissa spoke up first and rewarded her daughter-in-law with a slightly exasperated smile.

"We weren't supposed to take them with us yet but they were practically screaming their lungs out…They're horribly ruthless when they _both _want something. They squirmed and kicked at us the entire time on the way here." She sounded so distressed as she said this that Harry winced and gave her an apologetic grimace. Lucius, however, just smirked at her, rolling his eyes at her reaction.

"They are Malfoy _sons, _darling…Of _course _they're ruthless at getting what they want. I'd be horribly disappointed if they weren't." He would have said more to Harry but a brief noise suddenly distracted him from behind, causing both him and Narcissa to turn around towards the door.

"Is something wrong—"

Harry stopped when Narcissa spoke up again, turning around to give her one last smile. "Not to worry, darling…We'll be right back. Lucius and I just have to take care of some paperwork down by the reception area. We'll be back soon." She gave her a nod after she said this and after Lucius excused himself the same way, the two older Malfoys left the room – leaving Harry to stare silently at the scene of Draco still talking animatedly to the two giggling toddlers balanced in his arms.

"Can you say it now, Garrett…? _FA-THER…FA-THER…_Come on, I know you can!"

"…_DO-WANNA!" _

_"_Ugh…Bugger."

"_…BUG—GER?"_

_"_What? _NO! _Gabriel, that's not a good word to learn! Gragh!"

Jaimee covered her mouth and let out a small giggle – the sound of which finally drawing Draco's attention as he looked up and glanced at her over the twins' heads. When he finally noticed her watching them, he offered her a reassuring smile and stood up from his seat – carefully balancing both his squirming twin sons in his arms.

To Harry's surprise, he slowly placed both Garrett and Gabriel's tiny robed forms down onto the bed beside her – causing Harry to blink back at him in uncertainty. Ignoring her questioning glare at him, Draco grinned and pulled back, sitting himself back down onto the chair beside the bed.

He watched as Harry blinked several times to herself again and slowly turned to her right, then to her left, meeting both Garrett and Gabriel's big green inquisitive eyes from where they had plopped down beside her. When neither of the twins said anything but continued to stare intently at her, Harry managed a small smile at them and forced herself to speak up in a soft voice.

"H—hey you two…D—did you have fun at your Uncle Sirius and Aunt Regina's house…?"

Neither Garrett nor Gabriel answered her.

Instead, both toddlers blinked again and continued to stare at her in silence – they wide eyes darting back and forth uncertainly from her nervous expression to Draco's face several feet away.

When after several more minutes, Harry _still _couldn't seem to say anything – Draco sighed to himself in defeat. He was just on the verge of saving her from the situation when to his surprise, his wife reached right over to the bedside table and picked up her wand. Ignoring the questioning looks he was shooting at her, Harry grinned and pointed it over herself, whispering a spell under her breath.

Once the smoke of the spell had cleared and Draco could see clearly into the scene again, his eyes widened and he had to lean back in surprise to watch just as Harry's form reappeared – decked out with a brightly colored jester hat on the top of her head and a bright red ball covering her nose.

At the sight of her, Garrett and Gabriel's eyes both widened even more and they stared at each other before glancing back at her – their identical baby faces creasing together in confusion. Then, to Draco's amusement, it was Garrett who reacted first and the older Malfoy son surprised his mother as he brought his tiny hands up to his mouth and muffled his unmistakable happy giggle.

"…_HEEHEE! MOMMY FUNNY!"_

The tension on Harry's face drained away and she began laughing as well, watching as Gabriel soon fell into the same state and began giggling behind his hands– shaking his blonde head until eventually gurgling and burying his face into the pillows her bed to muffle his adorable laughter.

"_MOMMY…CWOWN!"_

Harry made a face and stuck her tongue at them, shaking her head and causing the bells on the jester hat on her head to jingle noisily.

Garrett and Gabriel both fell into identical giggles again at this point as they gurgled and hid under their mother's blanket, their infectious laughter and antics eventually causing Draco to shake his head and begin to laugh as well. He pretended to growl and yanked the blanket up to unveil them, drawing a squeal from both toddlers as they giggled again and crawled around to hide behind their mother.

"_MOMMY! DADDY SCARY!!!!"_

Harry laughed and was just about to shove Draco away from the bed when a soft knock on the hospital door suddenly interrupted them, forcing both her and Draco to look up in surprise. She raised her wand over herself again and changed herself back to normal before blinking up ahead.

"Pardon me for interrupting…But…Er…Prongslet…?"

Sirius winced sheepishly from behind the hospital door as he peered into the room, looking slightly embarrassed at having broken such a tender moment. Draco didn't hide his annoyance at this and glared at him but Harry gave him a reassuring smile and beckoned him further into the room.

"Paddy! Come on in…What are you doing behind there?" She tried to wave him into the room again but Sirius shook his head and grinned at her, his eyes flicking in the direction behind him. "Actually, Prongslet…Er…I just came in here to say…Well…You have some…_Visitors_ here to see you_." _

Draco and Harry both blinked and sat up in curiosity at his words. They both ignored Garrett and Gabriel hopping happily around on the bed and watched as Sirius slowly swung the door open behind him, revealing what appeared to be a whole horde of robed figures waiting by the hallway.

"Sirius…? What—"

Harry's voice eventually broke off and she ended up gaping at the scene instead, watching as about a couple dozen pureblooded males and their families slowly began entering the room towards her. None of them seemed to say anything for those next few moments as Blaise Zabini, Oswald Cunningham, Vincent Ashford, Neville Longbottom, Lucian McConway, and even Philippe Winchester – the Head of just about every pureblooded family she knew in Europe – began gathering into a semi-circle around her, all of which were now smiling at her and were slowly raising their hands up to their chest. The Weasleys, Parkinsons, and even her own family – the Malfoys – were also there and they circled around her as well, mirroring the smiles on everyone else's faces on their own.

Philippe Winchester looked particularly irritated at having to be there and was the only one who wasn't smiling but one look at his friends' glares was all it took for him to cringe and grudgingly raise his hand up to his chest as well. Then, as though in an unspoken agreement amongst themselves, each and every pureblooded family in the room began to break out into a slow and steady round of applause – the sound slowly growing louder until the entire room was filled with the joyous sound and Harry could do nothing else but gape and blush in surprise.

Eventually, however, the shock on her face gave way to shy gratitude and she began to smile back albeit uncertainly, blushing darker in embarrassment when Byron, Ron, Fred and George began to add loud rambunctious cheers to the already deafening applause around them. Her final undoing came when Draco eventually surprised her by rising up slowly from his seat beside her bed, turning around and giving her a gentle smile. With that, the Malfoy Head slowly walked over to stand right beside the other pureblood heads and slowly joined into their applause, his eyes lingering over her beautiful face and his chest practically bursting with pride as he watched his friends all around cheering her on.

Behind her, Garrett and Gabriel had stopped hopping on the bed and were now looking around the room in bored confusion, their eyes flicking back and forth between their mother's beet-red face and their father's smile across the room. It was Blaise who eventually broke the applause first and he stepped up to Harry's form on the bed, grinning at her and giving her a teasing wink as he spoke.

"On behalf of all the pureblooded families of Europe, Harry…We'd all like to express to you our sincerest gratitude in risking your life…To save ours. We – and our families – are all in your debt."

"_WOOOT! HARRY, YOU'RE THE MAN!" _

Harry laughed helplessly at Byron's loud exclamation just before the entire room burst into loud cheers and applause again, the lot of which were now chattering excitedly amongst themselves and were shooting her appraising looks from all around the room. From just the very front of the crowd, one of the older family heads leaned over Draco's shoulder to whisper something into his ear.

"That's _some _wife you've got there, Malfoy…"

Surprised at having been addressed, Draco blinked up at the older man in surprise before nodding and answering him with a beaming, genuine smile of agreement.

"Oh I know, Kennicot…Believe me…I know…"

The older wizard took one look at Harry across the room before leaning over to talk to Draco again, his voice laced with a hint of amusement and a small amount of disbelief.

"How ever did you win a woman like that over…? She's…Blimey, she's bloody perfect!"

At his loud exclamation, Draco blanched to himself and shook his head in amusement. Amidst all the continuing cheers and loud applause around them, Draco turned around one last time to give the other man a wry, secretive smirk that the other wizard couldn't fully comprehend.

"Trust me…My wife is anything _BUT_ perfect."

* * *

Anton's eyebrows shot up to his forehead just as he entered the large bedroom of their Malfoy Estate in France that morning, his eyes immediately darting to the bustling figure of his wife near the edge of their bed. Ginny didn't seem to be aware of his presence, however, and continued on to hurl more and more of her clothing into a large suitcase, pausing only to race back into her large closet so that she could gather more clothes and shove them into her bags again.

When after several tries at trying to get her attention by clearing his throat, Anton finally lost his patience and spoke up in a loud voice – instantly causing his wife to jump and nearly drop the clothes she held in her hand in shock. Whipping around to face his questioning gaze, Ginny's cheeks instantly colored and she glared at him, reaching for something in the pocket of her robes.

"You're leaving…?" Anton asked in shock, inwardly wincing to himself when he heard the inadvertent flatness of his voice. His emotions were desperately trying to keep themselves together for fear of exploding at her and he tried to ignore the stinging in his chest as he watched her pack.

Ginny flushed even darker at his words and she yanked her hand out of her robe pocket, raising something up into the air and slamming it down angrily onto the edge of their bed.

"Well…Aren't you observant…? Finally noticed you had a wife now, did you?" She shook her head disgustedly at him and finally shoved the last of her clothes into her suitcase, raising her wand slamming it shut. After casting a shrinking charm on all her belongings, she turned around and glared at him again, gesturing pointedly to the small wrinkled up envelope she had placed onto the bed.

"I'm _leaving, _Anton…I can _NOT _do this anymore! I don't want any more part of this…_FARCE!"_

Her words brought another frown to Anton's face and he blinked several times at her in confusion, his blue eyes flicking back and forth between her slightly tearful eyes to the envelope on the bed.

"I don't understand what you mean…What are you talking about? Did I do something wrong?" He tried to stop her from walking out by grabbing her hand but Ginny screeched and shoved him away, using the same maneuver to step back and level him with another fierce, angry growl.

"Let _GO _of me! Don't touch me! Don't you _EVER _touch me again you…Uncaring…Insensitive…_BASTARD!" _Her voice cracked at the last part of her sentence, betraying the pent-up emotions she was trying to hold back.

Anton saw it instantly, his face creasing with concern as he tried to pull her back towards him again.

"Ginny…If you could just explain to me what you're talking about…Quite frankly, I have no idea what you're saying! Look, if I did something to upset you then _TELL _me so I can make up for it—"

Ginny stopped the rest of his protests by scowling and shoving him away again, her restraint over herself finally snapping as tears began to pour down her pale cheeks. Once again, Anton could do nothing else but stare at her and this incited her anger further, causing her eyes to harden.

Ignoring his looks of confusion, she walked towards the end of the bed again and snatched the envelope up, using the same hand to slap it hard onto his face. Anton winced at the contact and grudgingly peeled the envelope off his cheek, watching with a stunned expression as Ginny's eyes continued to leak tears and she took several steps away from his form in growing sadness.

"G—Ginny…? What—"

"_READ IT! READ IT YOU…YOU VILE PIECE OF VERMIN AND COMPARE IT TO WHAT YOU HAVE REDUCED THIS 'MARRIAGE' INTO! READ IT, I DARE YOU!" _She screeched at him, her blue eyes flashing again as Anton flushed but slowly unfolded the envelope in his hands. He held it up to the light so that he could peer at the elegantly written handwriting etched along the old parchment.

Within a couple of minutes, however, the confusion in his eyes vanished and finally gave way to understanding as he turned back to stare at her with a look of regret on his handsome features.

"Ginny…Look…I actually came here to tell you something important—"

Ginny shook her head fiercely at his words and covered her ears to drown out the rest of his words. "I don't want to _HEAR _any more of your stupid offers and promises and negotiations, Anton! I've had it! You—" Her voice broke off and she stared sadly at him, her features sagging with defeat.

Anton winced t himself as he watched her struggling to force out the rest of what she wanted to say.

"—for the last _TWO _years I've spent with you…Y—You…You made me _believe_ that marriage was this…_mockery_ of what a _real_ relationship was truly all about! Y—you made me _believe _that a genuine…_ relationship _doesn't exist! Or that it can never survive within the context of fidelity and trust and honor and friendship and…_love! _Y—you made me believe all those vile…Stupid things!"

Ginny's voice trembled as she spoke and she took several steps away from him as she fought to keep herself together, her face flushing in humiliation as she stared into Anton's unreadable face. He shook his head and tried to reach for her again but she shoved him away in anger.

"Ginny, _PLEASE _just listen to me…I _have _something to tell you! Look, I know I made all those stupid mistakes and that I have a lot to make up for but if you would just—"

"A—and yet…Here I am…And I—I see…People like your mother…and your father caring so deeply for one another despite all society gossip…Your grandmother and your _grandfather_ keeping up a beautiful marriage for more then _THIRTY _years! I see Draco and Harry fighting so hard against all their differences just so they could make their marriage work…How do you think that makes me _FEEL, _Anton?! Do you have any idea how much it all _HURTS?! _How humiliating and how degrading this is for me?!" Ginny could no longer prevent herself from crying openly now and the sight of her sobbing face caused her husband to wince to himself again in both regret and self-disgust at his own actions.

"I know, Ginny…I'm so, so _sorry _for everything I've done and I know nothing I say now can—"

"—Which is why I'm leaving, Anton…I'm sorry but I just…I can't do this anymore with you." Ginny held back a fresh round of sobs and very slowly began sliding off her wedding band, her fingers shaking as she reached out and placed it carefully onto the edge of their bed as well.

"I can't take it anymore…I _won't…_If other people can have such a beautiful relationship in their lives…Well…I'm going to take my chances and look for it too. I…I want the real _thing, _Anton. I'm…sorry…I want a divorce."

She held back another wave of tears and very carefully turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. Just as she had reached the door, she felt a soft but firm hand grasp her gently by her arm, causing her to tense up instantly and turn around to see his face.

Anton was staring uncertainly at her, the expression on his face one of awkward uncertainty. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he slowly turned her tilted her gaze up to him and looked intently into her eyes blinking in surprise when he noticed their beautiful depths for the first time.

"Ginny, I…I first want to…Well…I have one last offer to give to you."

His uncertain words accomplished nothing but make Ginny sneer at him and shake her head in disgust. She attempted to shrug his hand off her arm but Anton tightened his fingers around her anyway, shaking his head stubbornly as he continued to speak despite her fierce struggles.

"I don't want _ANY _more of your propositions _OR _offers—"

"_This _one is different, Ginny! This one may make you change your mind and make you stay!"

Ginny's eyes flashed and she struggled even more wildly against his grip. "I don't want _ANYTHING _more from you _OR _your family! Now let go of me before I punch your lights out! What more could you possibly offer me _NOW _for me to stay with you again?! What is it?! The _WORLD, _Anton? Isn't that what you always offer to all your other disgusting women when you want something?!"

Her harsh, mocking words caused Anton to flinch to himself again but he didn't relinquish his hold on her. Instead, he clenched his jaw in fierce determination and spun her around to face him again, reaching his other hand down so that he could tilt her face up to meet his intense gaze.

At his solemn expression, Ginny sneered at him and was just about to mutter another sarcastic retort when his next words promptly forced her next words to die right on her lips.

"Myself, Ginny…I offer you…_Myself." _

Ginny blinked and continued to stare at him in wary disbelief, the expression on her face almost challenging as she dared him to deny everything he had just said. He didn't, however, and continued to stare imploringly at her, his gaze unwavering as it rested on her shocked features.

"Ginny…I…I don't want you to go…Frankly because I…I think I've fallen in love you."

Unable to process any form coherent thought in her numb mind, Ginny's jaw dropped and she stared at him for a long time – her cheeks flushing slowly and her eyes glistening with a mixture of shock, tenderness and relieved joy all at once. For the life of him, Anton had never felt more awkward in his entire life as he stared right back at her, his face beginning to burn bright red in humiliation.

"I…I realize that wasn't part of our whole a—arrangement and I apologize for that b—but—"

Ginny burst out into soft, helpless and slightly choked up laughter at his sudden stuttering and shook her head at him, biting her trembling lip as she leaned back and stared into his eyes.

"Oh Anton…You stupid _veela…_That was really all I was waiting for…."

With that, her face lit up into a beautiful smile and she came rushing right back into his arms, knocking her blushing husband onto the floor and wrapping her frail arms tightly around his neck.

* * *

Byron was just about to enter Vincent's hospital room a little later on that afternoon when a distinct voice coming from the inside made him freeze in his tracks. Stopping just by the doorway of the room entrance, he peered slowly into the room – his golden brown eyes widening in surprise when he was met with the sight of Jonathan Ashford's dignified, elderly form a couple of feet away.

The older aristocrat was seated on the wooden chair right beside Vincent's bed and looked as though he was caught up in a deep, meaningful conversation with his son – both of which were chuckling to themselves and speaking in hushed whispers that fell out of Byron's range of hearing.

Unsure of what to say or do to address them, he settled for stepping awkwardly into the room and clearing his throat, drawing both men's attention to his presence. At the sight of him, Jonathan just smirked back with a knowing look in his eyes.

"I—I'm sorry for interrupting…Good afternoon, Master Ashford…How wonderful to see you again." Byron had sounded so extremely uncomfortable as he forced the polite greeting out that Jonathan had to chuckle at his expression. Shaking his head, he stood up carefully from his seat and grabbed his cane from the table, turning around one last time to give his son a nod of farewell.

"I'd best be on my way back home now, Vincent…I shall draw up the papers and get back to you as soon as can. Take care of yourself my son."

Vincent smiled and nodded briefly to his father as he exited the room, stopping only just as he passed Byron's hesitant figure to turn and reward the fidgeting Malfoy son with another knowing smirk. Blushing slightly at this, Byron coughed again and pretended to look away just as Jonathan walked out of the room, closing the door shut silently behind him. As soon as they were alone, Byron grimaced again and walked carefully towards the bed, plopping himself down onto Jonathan's vacated chair.

"Hey…You're doing better…How are you feeling…?"

Vincent's eyes softened at his spoken words and he grinned up at him, gesturing to the tubes that were still attached all over his wrists. "Well…I've definitely _looked _better but I'll be just fine…The Healers say that I can be released tomorrow and that I can get back to work immediately after that."

Byron nodded silently at his words, quirking one corner of his lips into a small smile. "That's…_great, _Vincent. I uh…I see you seemed to have patched things up with your father…I spoke to him once you know. A couple of days ago when he came to visit you while you were in a coma." He paused when Vincent nodded in understanding at his words, giving him a knowing grin.

"Yes, I know…I was talking with him since this morning. He says you're quite an…_interesting_ character. He was most impressed with the fact that you're a Malfoy son as well…I think he's quite taken in with you." He teased in a light drawl, inadvertently causing a blush to spread on Byron's face.

When the metamorphagus seemed too flustered to speak, Vincent chuckled and continued for him.

"My father and I…Well, we made up. He apologized for everything and…He's renamed me to be the next Head of my family starting next week. I return home to the manor tomorrow." He watched as Byron's eyes involuntarily changed into a subtle color of blue as he looked back up at him, a genuine smile lighting up his handsome face.

"That's great, Vincent…I'm happy for you. Congratulations…" His voice trailed off softly after that, causing Vincent's eyes to darken immediately in concern when he saw his expression.

"Is…Something wrong, By…? You don't _look _happy enough to see me…"

Vincent's words had a light teasing hint to it but Byron refused to acknowledge it either way as he sighed and shook his head. He glanced back up and met Vincent's confused blue orbs again, allowing the older man to see that his eyes had darkened back into his usual shade of golden brown.

Byron surprised the Head Unspeakable when he forced out a smile and shook his head, indicating to something just by the exit of the room.

"Actually…I brought you something. It's one of the two reasons I dropped by…Here…Let me get it. Just a second…"

As the younger man quickly bustled out of the room, Vincent's eyebrows rose up further – waiting until Byron had reappeared into the doorway with a squirming, golden bundle of fur balanced carefully in his arms. At the sight of it, Vincent's eyes immediately widened and he leaned back against his pillows, watching as Byron began walking back towards him.

"Byron…What in _Merlin's _name—"

Byron cut right through his exclamation with a bright grin, leaning down so that he could deposit the adorable golden retriever puppy right onto Vincent's lap. As soon as it was laid out on the bed, Vincent unconsciously reached out and pulled it closer towards him, chuckling to himself moments later when it blinked up at him with innocent, golden brown eyes.

The puppy let out a soft, happy bark and began wagging its tail excitedly at him – the sight of which causing both men to laugh to themselves in amusement. Turning questioning eyes back to Byron's face, Vincent raised an elegant eyebrow in query and stared at him in confusion.

"He's a keeper, Byron…But I don't understand what it means. Is he yours…?"

His eyes widened in surprise when Byron smiled and shook his head at him, reaching down to give the slightly drooling puppy a light scratch to the back of his ears.

"I'm giving him to _you _actually…He's a magically bred golden retriever. His eyes change color depending on his mood so you'd know right away what he's thinking or feeling." He explained, hiding another smile to himself when Vincent's eyes dropped back down in amazement to the puppy barking his lap.

"I see…What's his name then?"

Byron was no longer able to look at him and his eyes dropped to stare at the floor.

"…_Shadow."_

The softly spoken, single word instantly caused Vincent's eyes to rivet back up and stare intently at him in genuine surprise. A long, awkward silence passed between them after that, broken only by the sound of Shadow's impatient yipping as he barked happily, wagging his tail several times and squirming some more in growing agitation.

When after a few more seconds, Byron _still _seemed unwilling to say anything, Vincent finally spoke for him, looking up and giving the younger man a hesitant smile. "Thank you…Will you be helping me take care of him, then? I'd love for us both to keep him…" His voice trailed off and if anything, the implied meaning in his words finally elicited a deep sigh from Byron's lips.

Unable to keep his weary thoughts to himself any longer, Byron slowly stood back up – walking over to the foot of Vincent's bed so that he could keep himself a safe distance away from him. "Actually, Vincent…That's kind of the _other _reason I came here to see you today…Listen…We really have to talk about...Well..._This_."

Those last eight familiar words seeped right through Vincent's understanding and the smile on his face slowly disappeared, only to be replaced by a small, uncertain frown. Nodding hesitantly at Byron to continue speaking, he leaned back cautiously against the pillows on his bed again and listened intently to his next words.

"The _real_ reason…I got shadow for you was because…Well…Vincent to be quite honest with you…I'm tired of being _yours._"

His paused briefly to take a deep intake of breath, ignoring the look of protest that was beginning to gather on the older man's shocked, disbelieving face.

"Byron, wait…What are you saying—"

"I…I can't be your constant shadow all the time anymore, Vincent. I'm tired…Frankly, I'm _exhausted_ really…Of always having to be the one to understand you for your actions. To make up for your failures and neglect in this relationship. If you could even _call _this a proper relationship in the first place." He let out a weak, sardonic laugh, shaking his head at his words.

Vincent's normally bright blue eyes slowly began to fade off into a dull shade with sadness and he stared silently at him, watching as Byron struggled for the right words to say next.

"So you're…You're _giving up _on me, Byron…? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Byron stiffened at the pleading tone he heard in Vincent's voice and forced himself to look back up, meeting the Head Unspeakable's sad expression with a solemn but genuine smile.

"I know a failed relationship when I see one, Vince…I suppose I'm just so tired of tailing after someone who's never going to love me back the same way. I'm sorry…But sometimes…Even a Malfoy has got to learn when to give up and move on when something will just _never _be his." He offered him another weak laugh and reached out to pat Shadow gently on his furry head.

"Besides…That's why I'm leaving you with this adorable…Furry little rascal over here." He flicked his eyes back up and met Vincent's sad blue eyes intently with his own.

"I know you'll find so many more lovers after me, Vincent…And I'm sure that they'll adore you and love you and even pamper you so much more than I ever did…But this guy…Well—" He ruffled Shadow's dog ears again, chuckling when the small puppy began to bark loudly again and wagged his tail happily in growing excitement.

"—well…Let's just say I hope he reminds you of me whenever you see him. At least you can be certain that he'll follow you around wherever you go and never leave your side even during those times you don't even _want _him there. I'm just sorry I can't do the same." He stopped after those last few sentences and began to walk away, heading slowly towards the door.

Just as he had touched the doorknob, however, he heard the distinct sound of Vincent's rushed, heavy footsteps along the wooden floor and he hesitated – only to freeze up in shocked disbelief a second later when he felt a strong hand wrapping tightly and securely around his arm from behind.

"Byron…_Stop."_

Shadow began to bark and yip loudly behind them again but both men ignored him and fell into a deep, uneasy silence. Eventually, Byron let out another deep sigh and slowly willed himself to turn around again. He frowned, looking up and staring right into Vincent's bright blue eyes in question.

"It's alright, Vince…You don't have to say anything. It was _my _fault for hoping too much—"

Vincent chuckled at his words and shook his head in amusement, reaching a single finger and using it to silence the rest of Byron's protests by pressing it against his lips. When the younger man blinked several times and stared blankly at him in confusion, Vincent spoke again, drawing Byron's attention to the sheepish grimace on his face.

"What if I told you…That I've only just realized…That I was a selfish bastard who couldn't tell when a good thing came to him even if it danced naked right in front of his face…?"

Byron's eyes widened in surprise at Vincent's words but the Head Unspeakable continued to speak further, his voice dripping with an unusual tone of humility and bitter regret.

"What if I told you…That I'm _still _a selfish bastard now because I'm going to try to persuade you to stay with me…And give me another chance…?"

Byron refused to say anything at first but just stared silently right at him, his eyes flicking back and forth between Vincent's handsome, imploring features and Shadow's barking form bouncing along the bed. After a long tense silence, he finally spoke again – drawing Vincent's attention to the smirk playing on his lips.

"Then I would tell you…_Sir…_To give me reason to…"

In spite of himself and the nervous pounding of his heart against his chest, Vincent managed a weak smile at Byron's quip and raised his hand again, using it to stroke Byron's cheek.

"Because…I don't need a shadow anymore…? I need a…_partner. _Someone who's going to be there for me through thick and thin…In the same way I'm going to be there for him."

Vincent's words seemed to make Byron flush slightly and he blinked at him, one of his eyebrows arching up in mild confusion. "Sir…? I don't quite understand what you mean by that—"

Rolling his eyes, Vincent's smile faded and was immediately replaced by a small, wry smirk.

"I love you too…You clueless morphing prick. And quite frankly, I'd be damned before I'm stupid enough to let you go _now _that I've finally realized that." He sounded so conceitedly sure of himself as he said this out loud that it would have made Byron laugh had he understood him well enough to react.

Unfortunately, all the young Malfoy son could do was to blink and gape stupidly at the other man in shock.

"B—but…Since _when? _Wh—why are you just telling me that just now, I—"

Vincent grinned again and silenced the rest of Byron's protests by leaning forward, pressing his lips against his in a soft, heated kiss. When he pulled away and Byron _still _looked as though he was unable to think of anything to say, he shrugged nonchalantly and offered the younger man a sheepish smile.

"Does it matter…? Sometimes…I really _do _just need a good kick to the head and a push in the right direction for me to realize things…I know that now." He was just about to lean in and kiss the metamorphagus again had Byron not snapped out of his self-induced daze and finally managed a soft chuckle, looking up and offering the Head Unspeakable a wide, teasing grin.

"So…Does this mean… Well in your words at least… I don't have to 'dance around naked in front of you anymore to get your attention'?" His words were tinged with a light hint of humor as he said this that it brought a genuine laugh and suggestive expression to Vincent's own grinning face.

"Well…Only if you want to."

Just as the two were leaning in close for another kiss, a strange sound from the adjacent hospital room just beside Vincent's abruptly cut them off – forcing Byron to pull back and narrow his eyes in wary confusion. Vincent raised an eyebrow irritably at him, watching as the metamorphagus gave him a brief apologetic look before walking over to the door on the side.

"H—hold on a second, Vince…I could have _sworn _the room beside yours was empty when I passed by awhile ago…I wonder who's—_YARGH! OH GOD! OH BLEEDING MOTHER OF MERLIN!"_

Byron's voice broke out into a shrill, high-pitched yelp just as he jumped back from the door he had opened at the side of the room – slamming the door back shut immediately and scampering away to hide behind Vincent in horror. Utterly confused at the younger man's astonishingly peculiar reaction and rolling his eyes in annoyance at him, Vincent shrugged him off and began walking to the door to the adjacent room as well, pointedly ignoring Byron's sharp protests and warning cries behind him.

"No, Vince! _DON'T _open that! I'm telling you, you don't want to do that!

Vincent ignored Byron's shouts and walked over to the door anyway, mumbling irritably under his breath as he reached for the knob. Sensing that his words were being completely ignored, Byron cringed before he shrugged, smirking as he walked back over to where Shadow was still barking across the room and gathering the adorable puppy into his arms.

"Well…Don't say I didn't warn you, love—"

"Byron, I _swear _you act so much like a child—_HOLY MOTHER OF A GOAT-FACED BANSHEE!" _

At the sight of _Spencer Addison_ and _Severus Snape's_ quite…_intimately…_entangled forms just in the other room beside their own, Vincent cringed, reflexively slammed the door back shut and whipped back around, his horrified blue eyes as wide as saucers as he stared blankly at Byron's smirking face across the room.

"Uml…I...Told you so?"

Instead of answering, Vincent paled and his wide eyes slowly rolled up to the back of his head.

_**THUD!**_

Sniggering loudly to himself, Byron's smirk widened as he shrugged and turned back to Shadow's happy golden brown eyes, reaching up to scratch the barking puppy behind the ears.

* * *

_"MOMMY?"_

As she and Draco were packing their things and getting ready to leave the hospital the next morning, Jaimee blinked at the sound of Garrett's inquiring voice and turned around. She stepped back in surprise to see that her older son had approached her from behind and was now peering up at her with big green eyes from where he was standing on the floor.

Almost as though the intelligent two-year-old had sensed her confusion, Garrett blinked once before grinning again and smiling angelically up at her, holding up to her in his hands what appeared to be a small, brightly colored baby rattle. Arching an eyebrow in keen amusement, Jaimee took the rattle slowly from his hands.

"Garrett…Sweetie, what's this?" Jaimee paused in the middle of packing her things and raised the rattle up to the light in mild curiosity. From across the room, Draco smirked to himself and leaned sideways against the door frame of the exit, crossing his ankles lazily over the other as he watched his wife.

When Jaimee continued to flick her eyes back and forth between the rattle and Garrett's bright eyes in question, the young Malfoy eventually answered her queries with a sweet smile.

"_MOMMY...WANT?"_

Smiling and her heart unknowingly melting at her son's adorable smile up at her, Jaimee laughed and shook her head – offering the rattle back to him. "That's alright, sweetie…You can have it. It's yours…I wouldn't want to take it away from—" She paused right in the middle of her sentence and frowned when she caught sight of a name written on the rattle's handle.

"Sweetie…What's this…? Is this—"

Her question eventually broke off into a gasp and she flicked her eyes back to Garrett's widely innocent smile, her eyes narrowing slightly in mild admonishment.

"_GARRET DRACO MALFOY…_This toy isn't _YOURS! _It's Daniel's! Why is it with you?! How did you get it?!"

Instead of answering his mother's question, Garrett blinked again and giggled to himself, turning around and meeting his father's knowing smirk across the room with a wide, baby smile.

"_ME TAKE! BONGBOTTOM!"_

The rest of Harry's sharp, indignant protests were cut right off when Draco promptly burst out laughing at this across the room. When the former Slytherin turned around hastily to muffle the rest of his amused sniggers at Garrett's little comment, Harry's eyes narrowed in annoyance and she hurled the rattle in her hand right at his head.

_**THUNK!**_

"OW! POTTER! THAT _HURT!"_

Draco scowled and rubbed at the forming bruise on his head where the rattle had hit him, promptly choosing to ignore Garrett's loud giggles at him and the way Harry was now cursing and grumbling about him and his 'bad influence on her two innocent children' under her breath.

When Garrett eventually grew bored of his parent's antics and walked back to the corner of the room, a blue-robed Gabriel soon took his place behind his mother's form. The younger Malfoy son slowly toddled up behind his mother and reached a small hand up to tug insistently onto her robes. Pausing in the middle of her packing once more, Harry turned around again and peered down to find Gabriel smiling up at her – holding up in his two hands a large white parchment filled with different colored scribbles all around.

"Hey Gabe…Did you draw this? Is this for me…?"

Gabriel didn't answer her and stepped back, smiling shyly up at her as she held the parchment up to the light. Harry stared at it in confusion – unsure of what to say. Finally, she knelt back down onto the floor beside him and smiled at Gabriel again, laying his drawing flat onto the floor so that they could both peer over it.

"This is a pretty drawing, sweetie…Thank you." She leaned over and placed a kiss onto the top of Gabriel's head, laughing when he gurgled again and trailed his tiny finger to the different colored lines and squiggles all around. "DADDY…GAWWETT…GABWIEL…" He stopped and pointed to a particularly long drawing of a lightning bolt near the very center of the piece of paper.

"_MOMMY!"_

He blinked and smiled up proudly at her, unaware of the way Harry's eyes suddenly dawned in understanding at what he meant to say. Unable to say anything back at him, she reached a hand out and ruffled Gabriel's mane of silver blonde hair instead, leaning down and rewarding her son with another sweet kiss to both his cheeks.

"I love it, sweetie…Thank you." She stood up and turned around quickly so that Draco couldn't see the emotions on her face as he approached her from the far end of the room. Giving her a knowing smirk anyway, he bent down to gather Gabriel into his arms before standing back up again and look at her in question.

"Harry…? I think the release papers are done by now…Are you ready to leave?"

Still unable to say anything for fear of letting him see her emotional state, Harry nodded meekly and walked across the room towards Garrett, scooping the toddler up into her arms. He giggled and squirmed halfheartedly against her but didn't protest as she cast a final shrinking charm on all her bags and followed Draco out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as they had reached the lobby and were just about to make their way out towards the apparition area, Harry stopped in the middle of her stride when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her from several feet away. Whirling around at the sound, she stared at the sight of Vincent Ashford exiting one of the rooms and making his way quickly towards them.

"Potter! If I may have a brief word with you…Just for a minute. It's rather urgent."

From where they had stopped near the entrance to the apparition site, both Draco and Gabriel met Jaimee's eyes across the lobby with near identical looks of confusion on their faces. Shaking her head at them, Jaimee shot Draco a reassuring smile and gently set Garrett down onto the floor, watching as the older Malfoy toddler giggled to himself again and immediately toddled over to where his father was standing.

Once Jaimee was sure that Draco was holding onto Garrett's hand, she finally turned back around and met Vincent's reluctant gaze with a nod and a small, uncertain smile.

"What can I do for you, Ashford…?"

Vincent chuckled at her formality and shook his head at her, lifting one of his shoulders into a sheepish half-shrug.

"You can stop with the formality already, Potter…I'm afraid I'm not going to be your boss anymore starting next week. I've been offered a position in the Wizengamot by the Minister…So I'll be resigning from my position of Head Unspeakable and moving up the ranks of the Ministry next week."

At his words, Jaimee's eyes immediately widened and she couldn't help but give him a wide, ecstatic smile. "That's bloody _BRILLIANT_, Ashford! Congratulations! That's _great _news!"

Vincent grinned at her enthusiasm and nodded, reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out a small envelope and slip of parchment. "I've also been renamed by my father to be the Head of my family so I'll be assuming more responsibilities from now on…So I'm afraid I won't be keeping in touch with the department or any succeeding missions in the future."

Harry nodded in understanding at his words but arched an eyebrow, inwardly wondering to herself where all of his words were going to lead to.

"That's understandable, Ashford…But only fair. So…What can I do for you then…? Is there anything you'd like me to do for you before you resign?"

Her words did nothing but incite Vincent's smile to grow wider and he chuckled at her, shaking his head at her clueless expression. "You really _are_ such a naïve little twit aren't you, Potter…? Here…I want you to take this." He handed her the envelope in his hands and watched as Harry's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as she read it from her hands.

"Wh—what's this—"

"The authorization papers that will officially name _you _as the next Head Unspeakable." He smiled at her stunned expression and winked at her, reaching over and giving her a pat on the shoulder. "You've earned it, Potter…You'll make an exceptional leader." He told her, waiting patiently for her reaction when Harry seemed unable to say anything in her shock.

Gulping audibly and flicking her eyes back in question to where Draco and her twin sons were still watching her from across the room, she bit her lip and met Draco's gray orbs. Unfortunately, she flushed even darker in realization when all her husband did was to give her a small smile and nod encouragingly for her to take it.

The next few words that soon came out of Harry's mouth, however, shocked not only Vincent into a disbelieving silence but also Draco into a speechless, gaping stupor across the room.

Shaking her head and very carefully placing the envelope back into Vincent's hands, Harry smiled at him and met his stunned expression with a genuine but slightly apologetic smile.

"I appreciate this opportunity very much, Ashford…I really do…And I'd like to thank you. But unfortunately…There's been a change of plans—" She slowly turned around again and met Draco's wide gray eyes once more, smiling softly to herself when she was met with the sight of her husband gaping at her and shaking his head furiously at her actions.

Highly amused at his unusually incoherent state, she rewarded him with a mischievous wink before turning back to meet Vincent's shocked expression.

"—I think..I'm going to have to decline that offer, Ashford." When he looked as though he was going to protest, she continued in a soft but assertive tone of voice. "I think…I'm going to be taking a long…_LONG…_much needed break from all this danger and death-defying adventure business…I want to spend the next few years of my life with my family for now."

After another long series of awkward moments between the two of them – several of which involved Vincent blinking at her as though he was having difficulty believing what she was saying – the Head Unspeakable finally shook himself out of his self-induced daze and laughed, shrugging helplessly as he gave her one last knowing smile.

"Very well, Potter…If that's what you really wa—"

"Don't listen to her, Ashford! The bloody git doesn't have a _clue _what she's saying!"

Draco's angry voice had suddenly interrupted them out of nowhere as he had rushed over to them, Gabriel still balanced in his left arm and Garrett clutching onto his free hand. Ignoring Vincent's surprised look at his sudden interruption, the Malfoy Head turned to his grinning wife and glared at her as though she was crazy.

"Harry, what in _Merlin's name _are you _doing?! _This is the one thing you've wanted your entire life! This is your dream! Don't tell me you're giving that all up?! I don't want you to! You're making a huge mistake!" He hissed angrily at her so that Vincent couldn't hear them, wincing several seconds later when Gabriel began to squirm impatiently in his arms.

Harry arched a single eyebrow at his words and met his anxious gaze for a long time, her eyes softening in realization as they rested on every single detail of his handsome face. Eventually, her gaze moved from him and rested intently on Gabriel and Garrett's identical grins, chuckling when they answered her by scowling impatiently up at her in annoyance.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour to Draco, Harry grinned again and turned back one last time to Vincent's curious expression, winking and giving the Head Unspeakable a final nod.

"I'm not giving up my dreams…Not really…Just—"

She bent down again and slowly gathered Garrett back up into her arms, laughing to herself again at his infectious giggles before slowly leaning down and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"—Going after a new one."

In spite of himself, Vincent hid a smile and couldn't help rolling his eyes as he watched Draco's expression soften at his wife's words.

The Malfoy Head looked as though he was trying very hard to hide his emotions as his free hand automatically reached down and intertwined itself very tightly against Harry's in a gesture of unspoken assurance. When the couple didn't do anything else those next few moments but stare intently into each other's eyes, Vincent had to cough loudly to get their attention.

"Are you sure about this, Potter…? Because to be honest…If _you_ won't accept this position, I'm going to be offering it to the next…brilliant…intelligent…Unspeakable in line after you…" Vincent's voice was dripping with so much pride as he said this that Harry turned again and shot him a look of surprise and keen curiosity.

"Who…?"

Vincent grinned widely at her, arching a single eyebrow in lazy amusement.

"Take a wild guess."

Harry's face broke out into a wide, ecstatic grin while Draco just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"You should have done that from the start. It would have saved us _all _the trouble. Potter isn't meant to be Head Unspeakable anyway…She's way too reckless and disorganized—_OUCH!" _

Draco scowled darkly and rubbed at the sore, bruised spot on his arm where Harry had punched him again, his frown furrowing deeper when his wife just shot him a furious, quelling glare.

Gabriel giggled at his father's reaction and blinked up at him. "_DADDY GO OUCHIE! BOO-BOO?" _

Rolling her eyes at her both husband and her younger son's antics, she turned back to Vincent and gave him one last grin and salute of farewell. Just as she was adjusting a squirming Garrett in her arms and getting ready to leave, Vincent called out to her again one last time – his question causing Harry to pause in mild surprise.

"Will we be seeing you on the battlefield again…Potter…?"

Glancing back over her shoulder to meet his smirk, Harry let the corners of her lips quirk upwards into a slow mischievous grin. She winked at him, bouncing Garrett playfully in her arms.

"_Maybe…"_

With that, the current Master and Mistress of the Malfoy family shot the speechless, genuinely amazed Head Unspeakable matching smirks before they gathered their giggling sons into their arms and strode out together hand in hand towards the exit, their footsteps clicking loudly along the silent, peaceful corridors.

* * *

**A/N: **We're _**NOT **_done yet! Two more wonderful chapters for you all to look forward to before this story formally ends! *tears begin to well up* I promised myself I wouldn't cry…*bawls*

**Next Chapter: **LAST Rated Scene (*wink-wink*), Seamus and Dean's Party, Last cute family Scene

But first…Before ANYTHING else…You all need to review first of course! :D **PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ALRIGHT? **What do you all think? Would you all like a mini-ficlet or perhaps oneshots featuring the twins and their life at Hogwarts? I'm still thinking about it so let me know mmkay? Cheers to you all! :D


	20. And the Ride Starts Again!

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: **RATED SCENE included in this chapter**. I marked the area in case you guys may want to skip it. I saw that some of you were unhappy with Harry's decision in the last chapter but the only thing I have to say is…_Patience is a VIRTUE. _The story is _NOT _quite over yet… You'll have to wait until the epilogue next chapter to see how everything is resolved. *mysterious smile* I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! It was bucket-loads of fun, fluff and sexiness! Weee! :D

* * *

**Chapter 20 – And the Ride Starts Again!**

_Right…Leather outfit…Schoolgirl outfit…Spandex…?! Ugh…I can't believe I wore that! TOSS!_

Harry wrinkled her nose in disgust as she shuddered at the memory and snatched the three aforementioned outfits out of her large closet, hurling them to the growing pile of discarded Unspeakable disguises on the floor of their bedroom. She turned her attention back to the large display of clothing hanging from her double-doored closet and fused her eyebrows in thought.

_Leather boots…Handcuffs…Leather whip…Net stockings…TOSS! _Harry shuddered again and tossed the four items from her hand to the pile behind her again. She scowled to herself at all the humiliating memories flooding her mind and ploughed deeper into her large closet to find more clothes.

_Sailor girl…? Can't remember wearing this…Hmm…Bunny ears…Bunny outfit… _She held back a laugh and was just about to toss the two pink items behind her when a hand out of nowhere suddenly plucked the two right out of her hands – causing her to growl and whirl around in sharp protest.

_"HEY! _What in the—_DRACO!" _

Harry's scowl darkened in annoyance as she found herself glaring right into Draco's devastatingly handsome smirk. The former Slytherin had snuck right up behind her and was now holding the bunny ears _and _dress up high over her head with a single hand, shaking his head and sniggering loudly when Harry growled and made to jump up several times to reach it.

"_NOT _this one, Potter…Everything else you can throw away. Consider it a…_Remembrance _for me…" His smirk widened and he ignored her knowing glare at him as he whistled innocently and slowly walked back out of the room, the bunny dress and ears still clutched carefully in his hands.

Harry's glare intensified and she would have yelled at her infuriatingly perverted husband had he not already stalked right out of their bedroom, his innocent whistles echoing down the long hallways of their Godric's Hollow estate. Rolling her eyes to herself, she sighed and turned back to the task of cleaning out her closet again, frowning when she was left with nothing but dresses and skirts.

_Ugh…Now this definitely will NOT_ _do. Where did all my normal trousers and shirts go…? _Her frown deepened as she stuck her head into her closet and began rifling deeper through the clothes again, her hands pushing aside and plunging through as many skirts and dresses in annoyance.

_Alright…As much as I hate to admit it…I have to go shopping for a new wardrobe._ Harry grumbled to herself as she sighed and pulled her head out of her closet again. She was just on the verge of closing the two double doors shut again when something in the far end of the rack caught her attention and raising an eyebrow, she reached out carefully and took it off the rack in inspection.

At the sight of the familiar and _very _distinct red and gold colors contrasting beautifully against the clean material of her old Hogwarts uniform, Harry smiled and held the uniform up into the light.

_Hmm…Not bad…I wonder if I can still fit into this thing…_? She grinned wider and was just about to slip herself right into it when a soft noise suddenly interrupted her from behind. Raising an eyebrow, Harry fought the urge to roll her eyes when she recognized her husband's presence and slowly turned around – her green eyes widening in shock moments later at the scene that greeted her.

_"You're way past your curfew, Miss Potter…How does…10 points from Gryffindor sound?"_

Feeling a sudden rush of blood flowing heatedly into her pale cheeks, Harry held back an overwhelming wave of lust hitting her as she stared dazedly into Draco's sexy smirk across the room, her eyes drinking in the neat, green and silver colored Hogwarts uniform that fit perfectly on his frame.

"D—Draco…Wh—what are you doing—"

An elegant eyebrow arched lazily at the sound of Harry's raspy voice and Draco's smirk widened, his steel-like, glinting silver eyes slowly wracking up and down her slender quivering body. When Harry gulped and slowly began backing away into the closet just as Draco stepped into the room, the former Slytherin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head warningly at her in mock admonishment.

_"Tsktsk….._Out of bed and out of proper school attire too…That is completely _UNACCEPTABLE, _Potter!" He raised his wand and pointed right at his shivering wife – watching with a languid smirk on his face as her Hogwarts uniform floated out of the closet and magically forced itself onto her body.

She gasped and tried to step away again but to her misfortune, her foot caught on one of the carelessly strewn boots on the floor and she ended up yelping and stumbling backwards onto the floor. Gulping again and crawling backwards along her elbows away from his approaching form, Harry gulped again and tried to mask her nervousness by offering her husband a sheepish grin and wince.

"D—Draco…I have _no idea _what's going on through your sick mind right now but I—"

Draco's eyes hardened and he sneered at her, raising his wand back up and pointing it arrogantly over the Head Boy badge pinned onto his robes. _"SILENCE, _Potter! I'm Head Boy and I have the right to punish you for breaking the rules! Now up on your feet! Come on, _UP! _Right now!_" _

He flicked his wand over her again and Harry had to bite back another gasp of surprise that escaped her lips when she was forced back up onto her feet by his magic, flushing even darker moments later when his spell pushed her forward until she was standing right in front of him.

Finally understanding and well-aware of his intentions at this point, Harry tried to prevent a laugh from escaping her as Draco stepped forward again – holding his wand up and pointing it right at the pulse point of her neck. He reached a hand out and gripped her chin tightly so he could tilt her blushing face up impatiently to meet his harsh glare, forcing her to see the dangerous glint in his eyes.

When she shivered in growing desire again and did nothing else but stare blankly up at him, Draco's smirk grew and slowly flicked his eyes back down again – allowing his gaze to linger all over the curves of her slender body. Her breathing grew heavy as he did this and she swallowed again, unconsciously pressing herself closer against him until she could feel the heat coming off his form.

Draco quirked an eyebrow lazily up at her again and sneered in exaggerated boredom, stepping away from her and pretending to consider the situation.

"I think we have a bit of a curious predicament here, Potter…What do you think…?"

Harry couldn't bring herself to answer him as she merely took in another deep, shaky breath and began to trail her own eyes up and down his body – her throat growing completely dry as she drank in the well-missed sight of how his Slytherin uniform fit so perfectly against his lean frame.

Draco noticed her look and his smirk began to twitch in amusement. He shook his head and called her attention again by tilting her face back up so she could stare into his steel-gray eyes.

"You see, Potter…I have _two _choices at this point…I _could _turn you in right now to the Headmaster for being out of bed…and in the process get you to lose a dozen more housepoints – which I would thoroughly _ENJOY_, by the way…" He sneered again and watched in growing arousal and a deep sense of self-satisfaction when the familiar fires of indignant anger began to flare in her eyes.

"_OR—_" Draco wrapped a hand around her waist and yanked her roughly against him, eliciting another gasp from her when she soon found herself pressed very suggestively against her smirking husband. He ignored her flushed face and leaned in close, his lips grazing sensually along her ear.

"—you could…_persuade me…_to do otherwise...So what do you think I should do…Potter?" His eyes narrowed and he very slowly licked a suggestive trail along the outer shell of her ear, chuckling under his breath when his wife shivered again and began to squirm very heatedly in his arms.

"_M—Malfoy…Y—you…A—arrogant…B—bastard…S—screw you…"_

Her voice came out as a hoarse, raspy whisper that did nothing to conceal the lust that was clearly implied in her spoken words. She gazed back up at him and returned his glare, the knowing, teasing gleam in her green eyes telling him she was playing along with his little game of seduction.

Draco chuckled under his breath again and slowly pulled her closer, trailing one free hand down her body until it lingered just below the hemline of her Gryffindor skirt. She stiffened at this and despite her half-hearted protests against him; he could sense that she was aroused by his actions.

"Hmm…Eager much, are we…? I'm beginning to think you like this, Potter…Hmm…?" He held back a smirk again as his hand began to move upwards along her smooth leg – stopping intrusively just as his fingers brushed along the searing heat that emanated from the wetness between her legs.

Unable to stay quiet any longer, Jaimee emitted a soft whimper and involuntarily pressed herself closer against him, wincing when his other hand had crawled up her back, intertwined itself into the tresses of her hair and yanked her head back painfully to expose her neck to his hungry gaze.

"Do you want me…?"

* * *

_***START OF RATED SCENE***_

Draco smirked again and didn't bother waiting for her to respond as he bent down and began trailing a line of heated bites and kisses along her neck, licking the bites along sensually right after all the way down until he reached her collarbone. He yanked her hair again to force her to bend down further and began using his teeth to slowly unclasp the first few buttons of her school blouse.

Her body trembled at the intimate contact and she brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, digging her fingernails against him as though she was trying to keep herself from slipping away. Draco took her reaction as permission and continued his ministrations, backing her slowly towards the far wall of their bedroom until her back was pressed up against the mirror behind them.

He slowly slipped the small white Hogwarts blouse off her slender frame and Jaimee gasped soon after when she felt the cool, smooth glass of the mirror's surface pressing firmly against the warm, flushed skin of her back. She watched as Draco impatiently tugged the green and silver necktie off his neck before smirking slyly and tying it securely around her lust-filled green eyes.

When she opened her mouth to protest against this, he silenced her by leaning down and catching her lips in a hard, passionate kiss – his tongue thrusting itself forcefully into her mouth and muffling her voice into a soft, helpless moan. Her hands tightened around his shoulders just as he let out an impatient growl and slammed her harder against mirror, trapping her body down with his.

He forced his leg insistently between hers and parted her thighs, using the same move to raise his leg a little higher so that his knee brushed very quickly against the wet aching between her legs. Jaimee winced and whimpered impatiently at this, trying to get more contact between their bodies but Draco just chuckled at her and pushed her away, leaning down so that his lips lingered over her bra.

"Have patience, love…"

His whisper tickled pleasurably along the top of her breasts and Harry shivered again, unable to see or do anything else except grip onto him for fear of falling onto the floor. Draco hissed when he felt her clawing against his shoulder and carefully used his teeth again to peel the straps of her bra off her slim shoulders, rewarding the pale revealed skin a soft kiss before moving onto her parted lips.

He pressed his lips firmly against hers again and prevented any further attempts of her removing the blindfold from her eyes by taking both her hands and slamming them back onto the mirror with a single own of his own. She would have struggled at this but even before any words had left her mouth, she felt Draco untying her tie from her neck and pushing it right into her mouth.

_"MMMPH—!"_

"_Shhhhh… _Not one word, Potter…The twins are playing in the next room…You wouldn't want them to think that anything… _horrible_ …was happening in here when they start hearing their mother …_screaming_…Would _you…?_"His eyes _and _his arousal began to harden at his own words and if anything, they seemed to affect Harry as well as she stiffened and began to struggle wildly against him.

_"Mmmmph—"_

Draco chuckled and raised a single finger up to her lips, silencing the rest of her protests by leaning down and pressing a teasing kiss against her neck. "_Shhh…_Just…_Relax, _love…Let me take it from here." He sneered and snaked his free hand behind her, slowly unclasping the hooks of her bra.

He watched with a predatory burning in his gaze as the garment fell right off her pale frame and exposed her ample breasts to his feasting gray eyes. Shuddering at the sudden coldness and the strange vulnerability of not being able to _see _him, Jaimee stiffened again and tried to move away – only to have herself pressed back up against the mirror when her husband growled warningly again.

"_Mmmph—!"_

Before she could register what was happening, Draco had already leaned down and took one of her nipples into his mouth – eliciting sharp muffled moans and whimpers from her as she struggled and began to thrash wildly against his strong hold. His hand tightened around her wrists and he kept her trapped easily with his own strength, ignoring her muffled sounds as he turned and began lavishing the same attention to her other breast with pretty much the ardor. He teeth nipped, grazed and nibbled hungrily against her breasts and positively drove her _crazy_, causing her to thrash again and attempt to wrestle herself out of his arms if only so she could lean up and meet his lips.

Draco seemed to understand her desperation, however, and soon leaned up and began trailing another line of sensual kisses along her skin underneath her jaw, his other hand finally moving down and caressing the inner skin of her thigh. She felt his hardened arousal pressing up insistently against her as Draco pinned her body harder against the mirror, the fabric of his school trousers barely able to block out the overwhelming heat that was already straining desperately between both their legs.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, a low, animalistic growl erupted from the former Slytherin. Jaimee felt him pull away from her for a brief second, keeping his hand firmly around her bound wrists. He soon returned moments later and this time, another muffled moan escaped her lips when she suddenly felt the warm skin of his hard chest pressing against her soft shivering body.

"_Mmmph…Dr—amph…." _

Draco chuckled under his breath at her attempt to whisper his name, hurling his discarded school shirt to the floor before resuming his efforts at kissing her breasts once more.

"I'm right here, Harry…"

His voice had grown into a hoarse whisper similar to hers as he began to grind himself against her, the smooth fabric of his school trousers chaffing loudly against the cloth of her skirt.

"_Mmmph…P—P…Pleemph…"_

He hissed and bit down hard on the skin of her shoulder, his free hand roughly snatching up the hemline of her skirt and yanking it up so that he could shove his fingers into her underwear. Jaimee winced and let out another muffled whimper at the sudden intrusion of his fingers, thrashing wildly and furiously shaking her head as she moaned and tried to force more contact in her agitation.

Draco's eyes narrowed at this and he stopped the rest of her struggles by growling and yanking his hand back out. "I said…_PATIENCE, _Potter! I don't want to hear another word out of you! Do you hear me…?! Don't make me take more house points from Gryffindor…I'm warning you!" He smirked when Harry instantly stopped moving and stiffened, her form beginning to tremble in anger.

"That's better…"

His sneer widened and he pressed against her again, reaching down and very slowly beginning to undo the zipper of his pants. Unable to see what he was doing, Jaimee continued to remain silent and completely stiff, her flushed form heaving with shallow breaths as she tried to gain a semblance of control over her lustful urges. Keeping his other hand carefully pinning hers onto the mirror, Draco purposely let his belt and trousers fall onto the floor so that she could hear the loud clanging sound.

Once she realized this, her flush returned and she pressed herself against him again, shuddering when she felt his hand sliding up the side of her thigh and tugging onto the thin waistband of her underwear, pulling the garment all the way back down until it eventually fell onto the floor.

"You want me…?"

Jaimee could only nod back desperately at him in response, whimpering again when Draco's hand began to slide back up and teased at the unbearable moistness between her legs. She heard his lazy chuckle just before his lips grazed along her breasts again, causing her to let out a muffled cry.

He pulled back slightly and forced himself between her legs, reaching down and impatiently tugging off his black boxers so that his entire length was pressing tightly right at her entrance. Again, he teased her by leaning in and nibbling along her ear, whispering something in a harsh, lustful hiss.

"Do you want me…? I want to hear you…Say my name, love…"

He reached up and yanked the balled-up Gryffindor necktie from her mouth, sneering contentedly to himself just before he plunged right into her waiting body with one smooth, hard thrust.

"_DRACO!!!!!" _

Draco's smirk widened and he shoved the necktie back into her mouth to muffle the rest of her loud screams, not bothering to wait for any more of her reaction as he pulled back and slammed himself into her again – eliciting another flurry of high-pitched, muffled sounds from her lips.

"_MMMMPH!!!!! DR—MMMMMMPH!"_

Those arousing, muffled sounds increased in volume as he began thrusting hard and deep into her trembling body, grunting and growling a couple of times as he clenched his teeth and forced himself to control his raging lust when he was overwhelmed by the sheer tightness and wetness of her.

Unable to keep up his slow pace any longer, Draco finally released her wrists so he could wrap his arms around her and yank her up, pressing her body firmly against the cold glass of the mirror behind them. His wife obliged him instantly and wrapped her legs around his waist, her free hands going back up to his shoulders so that she could support herself up against his thrusting movements.

Her fingernails dug into the warm skin of his back and made him hiss in pleasure as he leaned down and began sucking on one of her beautiful breasts again. His deep thrusts almost seemed never-ending as he kept himself plunging in and out of her, seeking desperately to satisfy all that insatiable hunger that had slowly built up inside him for the last three months he hadn't been able to touch her.

Jaimee seemed to feel the same way and wrapped her legs tighter around his waist to encourage him to thrust harder and deeper into her, her arms trembling as they linked themselves helplessly around his neck. In spite of not being able to see anything because of the necktie on her eyes, she used her free hand to yank out only the necktie in her mouth and leaned back down, pressing her face against his shoulder so she could muffle her moans of pleasure against him instead.

When his thrusts quickened and became powerful enough to cause the mirror behind them to rock noisily with each movement, the sounds she was making also heightened and she had to bite down hard onto his shoulder to keep from screaming out loud. Again, Draco hissed at this and began to ram himself even more furiously against her body, a bead of sweat trickling slowly down his face.

"U—ugh…G—God…Y—you're…S—so…b—beautiful…S—so _tight_…S—so…_good…_"

His voice broke and a harsh ripping sound followed as Draco yanked her skirt up higher and began pounding himself into her body like an enraged animal, his teeth tightly clenched and his breathing labored in his impending climax. Harry clenched her eyes shut tightly and was unable to keep quiet anymore as she relinquished her bite on his shoulder and began screaming out loud, her nails clawing painfully into his back as though she was fighting to keep a hold onto her sanity.

"_G—gods! O—oh gods! U—ugh…D—Draco…D—Draco…DRACO!!!!!" _

Draco had to reach a hand up to cover Harry's mouth as a loud, orgasmic scream tore itself from her throat – the sound echoing loudly along the silent walls of their bedroom and sounding like music to his ears. He clenched his own eyes shut and soon followed after her as he thrust one last time into her violently shivering body and exploded – his vision darkening into blissful sea of stars, fire and total, encompassing blackness. He thrust a couple more times into her to empty out the few remaining traces of perhaps the most violent orgasm he had ever had in his life before finally letting out a weak exhale of breath and very carefully setting her trembling form back onto the floor.

Harry didn't seem any better off than he was and had to cling onto him for support, her breathing ragged and her shoulders heaving desperately for shallow intakes of oxygen. Her face was flushed and her long dark hair was scattered all over the place, several of which had fallen into her eyes. A dozen of his red bites littered the smooth skin along her neck and stood out distinctly amidst her pale skin, drawing Draco's attention as he managed a weak smirk and leaned down to kiss them.

She shivered weakly at his ministrations again but smiled and slowly closed her eyes in exhaustion, leaning her head back down so that it was resting against his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck. Draco followed her by tilting his head slightly to plant a gentle kiss onto her forehead, wrapping his arms around her waist so that he could support her form with his strength.

_***END OF RATED SCENE***_

_**

* * *

**_

As he managed to usher his wife's weak, naked form towards their bed and had covered both their slowly cooling bodies with one of their silk blankets, Draco froze just when he heard the distinct sounds of two pairs of toddling footsteps scuffling their way into the side entrance of their bedroom.

"_DADDY…MOMMY…?"_

Horrified at the sound of Garrett's genuinely inquisitive voice, both Draco and Harry shot up into sitting positions and watched as their oldest son peeked his blonde head slowly into the room from the adjoining entrance of the nursery. Gabriel soon followed him and peeked his head in right after, blinking up at his parents' flushed, gaping faces and shooting his mother a sad, baby frown.

Still unable to say anything for fear of her voice not being able to work properly, Harry could do nothing else but gulp and wrap the silk blankets tighter around their flushed, naked forms. It was Draco who managed to find his voice first and he managed to let out a weak, reassuring smile at them.

"H—hey…Y—you two…G—go back to your room… G—go and p—play—"

Gabriel interrupted his father's protests and blinked up at them again, flicking wide tear-filled green eyes back up at his furiously blushing mother and giving her an innocent, worried look.

"_MOMMY…OUCHIE?"_

At Draco's muffled laughter, Harry let out a horrified squeak and fainted onto the bed.

* * *

"_EVERYONE…LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE MINISTER'S NEWLY PROMOTED LAPDOGS! HEAR HEAR!" _

Harry couldn't prevent a laugh from escaping her lips at Seamus' rather inappropriate introduction. The Irish wizard ushered Byron, Ron and Neville all up onto the stage of _The Common Room _that night, watching as just about everyone else gathered around the small stage in the rapidly growing popular bar around them cheered loudly and began applauding their enthusiasm.

_"WOOT! BYRON, YOU'RE THE MAN! YOU ROCK!" _

Rolling her eyes, she grinned again and turned to the side to find Spencer Addison hooting and cheering loudly along with some of the younger Unspeakable agents in the crowd. She shook her head when his cheers were soon followed by more of their friends hooting loudly as Byron, Ron and Neville all stepped awkwardly onto the stage and tried to calm the rest of their friends back down.

Still laughing helplessly at the scene and at the sight of some of her Hogwartian friends dancing drunkenly along to the upbeat music blaring around the club around them, she took one quick glance around the room – smiling and waving when she met Ginny's own grin several feet away.

The redheaded former Gryffindor was clinging tightly to her husband's arm that night and was blushing as Anton leaned in close every now and then and whispered something into her ear. A genuine smile was on his face and his hand lingered protectively over his wife's flat but otherwise pregnant two-month pregnant stomach, the sight bringing another warm smile to Harry's face.

Just a couple of feet away from them, Harry recognized her own husband's familiar frame from where he was standing and talking casually with his some of his old school friends. Seeing her looking at him, however, Draco raised an eyebrow at her in question but Harry just shook her head and gave him a reassuring grin, gesturing for him to continue on talking with his housemates.

Turning her eyes back to the very front of the room, she watched as a beet-faced Ron finally stepped down from the stage after making his speech and hurriedly rushed back to his laughing wife nearby, rolling his eyes when she gave him a teasing smile. Lorraine was, once again, pregnant with their second child that year and already, the half-veela had a small four-month-old baby bump.

Hermione stood right beside her and was giggling as Dean and Seamus began yanking Neville up onto the stage next, ignoring the former Gryffindor's embarrassed protests as he tried to cling onto Luna's hand. The blonde Ravenclaw laughed at him and ushered him on, clapping and cheering along with the rest of their Hogwartian batchmates as Seamus grinned and forced Neville to make a speech.

Around the room, several of the club's hired waiters and waitresses were diligently passing along a few drinks and refreshments around the crowd, pausing only to change music every now and then before continuing their rounds. Looking through the club's windows, Harry could make out several exasperated and thoroughly agitated gossip reporters and photographers trying to peer inside at them, all of which hoping of catching a glimpse of gossip about any of the guests inside.

"Some champagne, Harry…?"

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Harry turned around in surprise to find that Dean Thomas had approached her and was now holding a glass of wine up to her with a smile. Unfortunately, the loud blaring music of the club all around them had impaired her hearing and she failed to hear him, shaking her head and giving the other former Gryffindor an apologetic smile.

"_SORRY…? WHAT DID YOU SAY, DEAN?"_

Dean laughed at her frustrated features and spoke up louder, raising the glass of champagne up higher into the air so she could see it. "_I ASKED…IF YOU WANTED A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE? OR ANY DRINK FOR THAT MATTER? EVERYTHING IS ON THE HOUSE FOR EVERYONE TONIGHT!" _He told her, making sure his voice was clearly above the loud, upbeat music that was blasting all around them.

Harry grinned and was just about to take the glass from his hand when something suddenly clicked into her mind and she froze, immediately tearing her hand away and shaking her head with a sheepish laugh. "_OH…NO…I CAN'T! I'M SORRY… I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DRINK FOR AWHILE!" _She told him with a mischievous grin, laughing when Dean's only response was to look at her in confusion.

_"HUH? WHY NOT? YOU WON'T GET DRUNK OR ANYTHING FROM CHAMPAGNE, HARRY—"_

The rest of Dean's question was drowned right out when Seamus Finnegan suddenly bounced his way towards them with a wide, ecstatic grin, his bright eyes riveting around to give Harry an appraising wink. "This place is _PACKED _and bloody _WICKED!_ I get the feeling we'll be making the front page of the society papers tomorrow with this wicked party! Great job!" He rewarded his husband with a kiss on the cheek before turning around again, giving Harry a beaming, grateful smile.

"By the way, Harry…I'd just like to thank you—"

_"WHAT?!" _Harry frowned and held her hand over her ear to indicate to him that she couldn't hear him, laughing again when Seamus mimicked her actions and leaned in closer to speak to her.

"_I SAID…I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME OUT TONIGHT! ONCE THOSE NEWSPAPER SHOTS COME OUT WITH YOU, LORRAINE, AND HERMIONE WEARING THE NEW DRESSES AND GOWNS I DESIGNED, THE FEMALE CUSTOMERS WILL BE ROLLING IN LIKE CRAZY!" _

Harry rolled her eyes at his words but chuckled, flicking her eyes back down to stare at the surprisingly sexy but somewhat masculine design of the tuxedo dress she was wearing. "_I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I HAD TO WEAR 'THIS' ONE, SEAMUS! COULDN'T YOU HAVE GIVEN ME SOMETHING RELATIVELY NORMAL? I DRAW TOO MUCH ATTENTION ENOUGH AS IT IS!" _

Seamus laughed at Harry's response and shook his head, pointing to the photographers that were beginning to flash away at the sight of her attire. "_THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT, HARRY! YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION FOR ONE OF MY NEWLY DESIGNED FASHION LINES – DRESSES THAT ARE BOTH FEMININELY SEXY 'BUT' MASCULINELY ASSERTIVE! FOR SEXY WOMEN WHO ARE NOT AFRAID TO SHOW THEIR 'MAN' SIDE! IT'S BRILLIANT, I TELL YOU! I'M GOING TO MAKE IT BIG!" _

Harry and Dean met each other's eyes for a second before the two of them promptly burst out into simultaneous laughter again, shaking their head at Seamus' infectious antics. Reaching a hand out to pat Seamus' teasingly on the shoulder, Harry let out a helpless sigh and gave her friend a wink.

"_WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY_…_AND_ _GAY…SEAMUS_…"

She ignored his attempts at protesting and walked away from them before he could say anything, stifling another round of laughter when she heard Dean's similar teasing remarks at his husband as Harry walked away. Making her way through the groups of old Hogwartian students dancing in the crowd – several of which giving her smiles of acknowledgment – she finally stopped when she reached Ron and Hermione right at the front of the room with some of the other Gryffindors.

At the sight of her, both her best friends exclaimed and rushed out to greet her, drawing her attention to their flushed faces. Raising an eyebrow at them in amusement, Harry grinned knowingly and gestured to the laughing, slightly drunken group of dancers that were gathered around them.

"I see you two haven't completely gotten yourselves drunk yet…" She teased, indicating to the fifth glass of vodka Ron held in his hands. Sticking his tongue out at her, he drained the last of his drink before handing it to the passing waitress and rewarding Harry with a conspiratorial wink.

"This party is…_BLOODY BRILLANT! _Stroke of _GENIUS_, I tell you! And such a _BREAK _too after all those formal…_BORING _parties we attend all the time." Ron pointed out, earning a light punch to the arm from Hermione at his words. In spite of herself, the smile on her face indicated to him that she agreed with his words, however, and she nodded meekly, giving Harry a similar ecstatic smile.

"Well…I suppose it _IS _a welcome break…Trust Dean and Seamus to come up with something like this! I haven't seen some of our batchmates in _AGES! _It's certainly a fun reunion!" She enthused and if anything, both of her friends' excitement began to grow on Harry despite her reluctance.

"Yes…I suppose it _is _a welcome break from everything that's happened lately. By the way, you two…I've got interesting news to tell you…I just found out this morning that I'm—"

"_BLOODY HELL…_"

Ron's completely horrified and nauseated expression suddenly cut right through Harry's words and she shot him a worried look, taking in the definite green color of his face.

"Ron…What's wrong? Are you okay…? You don't look too good…"

"Honestly, Ronald…What is it this time? If you're drunk, Lorraine's going to have a fit—" The rest of Hermione's nagging response stopped abruptly as she followed Ron's gaze and promptly fell into a similar state, causing Harry's eyebrows to fuse in concern as she took in both their expressions.

Following their eyes at something over her shoulder, she let out an exasperated sigh and turned around. "Oh what is it _now, _you two…? I'm really trying to tell you something important here…If you don't want to listen to what I'm saying, then I'm going to have to…" Harry let the rest of her properly formed drawl fade off into silence, her features immediately contorting in horror.

"_Oh…Bloody…Mother…of…Merlin…"_

Standing just a couple of feet away from them near the stage and dancing _very _heatedly along to the loud music, Harry felt like ripping her eyes right out of her sockets as she was met with the sight of Spencer and Snape – both of which seemed too enamored with each other to notice her.

When after several more seconds of the Gryffindor trio staring and gaping at the bizarre sight in utter bewilderment and mortification, Ron gave out first and promptly fell backwards – his eyes rolling up to the back of his head as he collapsed into a dead, limp faint onto the dance floor.

_**THUD!**_

Harry cringed and would have given anything to join him in that instant but unfortunately, they were soon met with the sound of Lorraine Weasley's angry screech from right across the room.

"_RON WEASLEY! IF YOU'RE DRUNK AGAIN, YOU ARE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH TONIGHT!"_

Both Harry and Hermione's initial horror eventually gave way to amusement and they began laughing at the sight of Lorraine using her wand to drag her husband's unconscious form away, practically screaming her head off at him the entire time. As soon as they had gone and Harry and Hermione had gotten some control over their laughter, their attention was drawn again by a round of loud cheering – followed by the crowd behind them pointing to the stage right in front.

"_BY-RON! BY-RON! BY-RON! BY-RON!" _

Laughing again at the sight of her slightly flushed cousin-in-law being dragged up onto the stage by a widely grinning Seamus Finnegan, Harry watched as the dark-haired Malfoy stepped reluctantly onto the stage in the very center of the room. The watching crowd of guests below cheered loudly again and waited for the newly appointed Head Unspeakable to make his speech.

"U—uhm…W—well…I—uh…I don't really know what to say…Ehehe…"

Byron flushed darker when he caught sight of Vincent's laughing expression from where his boyfriend was standing with several more Unspeakable agents near the very front of the room. Sensing the younger man's embarrassment, Vincent smirked at him and gave him a teasing wink.

"U—uhm…Well…I suppose… All I _CAN _say is that…I—I'll try my best to fill the shoes of the last _BRILLIANT _Head Unspeakable before me…" He flicked his golden brown eyes back down and smiled back at Vincent's handsome face, laughing when all the crowd did was to boo at his mushiness.

The former Hogwartian Slytherins were the ones who didn't seem to appreciate his sentimentality the most and began booing louder – surprisingly led on by Draco, who was standing right in the very front of the whole group. The former Prince of Slytherin rolled his eyes at his cousin and began yelling for him to get off the stage, causing Byron to stick his tongue out at him in ire.

"You're just a _JEALOUS PRICK, _Draco!"

"And _YOU'RE _just a _PRICK, _Byron!"

Jaimee began giggling again at their little exchange and watched in surprise as Vincent suddenly strode up the stage, his wand raised up and pointed to his throat in a _SONORUS_ charm. Byron looked just as equally surprised as she was and took a step back as Vincent walked right up to him, grinning mischievously as he bounced something up and down in his free hand.

Ignoring the loud murmurs and whispers that suddenly broke out amongst the crowd of watching guests, Vincent walked right up to Byron until he was standing only a few inches away from him and stopped – eventually drowning out everyone else's voice as he began to speak.

"Byron…Just so you know…I'm afraid that Head Unspeakable badge is not the only thing you're going to be wearing these days…" He stopped and watched as Byron's handsome features creased up further into a frown of confusion at his words. He raised an eyebrow and watched in stunned silence as Vincent quirked the corners of his lips into a slow grin before very slowly kneeling down onto the floor on one knee – the sight of which immediately caused all the women in the room to squeal.

"_Oh PLEASE…_" Draco rolled his eyes and had turned to sneer at Blaise but his best friend – along with some of the other watching males around the room – was grinning, cheering and clapping the couple on. Jaimee was perhaps the only woman who hadn't squealed at this but just watched the impending scene with wide, eyes, her face slowly breaking out into a bright, genuine smile.

"Byron Malfoy…Will you marry me…?"

Byron's face broke out into a slow, easy grin as he looked down onto Vincent's slightly nervous expression – laughing inwardly to himself when he heard several more squeals and cheers around the large room. Smirking and pulling the older man up to his feet, he took the ring from the offered box and instead of answering, reached up and yanked the former Head Unspeakable into a deep kiss.

"_WOOOOOOOT!!!! THAT IS THE __**HOTTEST **__THING I'VE SEEN ALL NIGHT!" _

This time, Harry and Hermione both burst out into hysterical laughter at the sound of Seamus' exclamation – shaking their heads in helpless amusement as Dean sighed and had to literally drag his drooling husband away from the scene. As soon as Byron and Vincent had broken apart and had climbed back down from the stage, Seamus jumped back up and pointed his own wand to his throat.

"_ALRIGHT EVERYONE! IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR HOGWARTS REUNION FOR ALL OUR HOGWARTIAN SCHOOLMATES HERE…FOR THIS NEXT DANCE, WE'D LIKE EVERYONE TO GRAB SOMEONE FROM THEIR OWN HOUSE AND DANCE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER DANCED BEFORE!" _He followed this exclamation up with a loud cheer and winked before jumping back down, immediately grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling the giggling brunette to the very center of the room.

From the other end of the ballroom, Pansy had immediately grabbed onto Draco's hand and had begun dragging the Malfoy Head along to the very center as well despite his sharp, desperate protests – eliciting more sounds of laughter from all their gathered housemates watching the scene.

Harry couldn't stop laughing at this point and was just about to look around when a voice out of nowhere suddenly spoke up from behind, causing her to whirl around. She stepped back in shock when she was met with the strikingly handsome grin of her former Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood.

He gave her one wink of familiarity and bowed his head down lightly to kiss her hand, straightening himself back up and meeting her face with friendly grin. "I know the last time we've spoken to each other, you were still a _guy…_and quite a _MEAN _seeker at that…So would you mind now…_Mistress Malfoy…_If I asked you for a dance?" His friendly smile assured her that there were no underlying intentions behind his efforts and Harry smiled back, nodding her agreement.

"Eh….What the hell…I always _DID _find you attractive even _THEN, _Wood…"

Oliver looked shocked at her blatant admission but forced a laugh anyway; shaking away the disturbing thought as she slowly led him to the dance floor and began dancing along with their other Gryffndor friends. They both laughed at the sight of Fred and George dancing the robot with their partners while Ron was similarly dancing along with Padma just beside Seamus and Hermione.

As she grinned again and allowed Fred and George to lead her, Oliver – and the other Gryffindors – into a somewhat unfathomable form of _rain dance_ around the dance floor, she caught sight of the Draco's form several feet away and couldn't help offering him a teasing grin and wink.

Her husband was caught right in the middle of a whole horde of Slytherin girls who had all circled around him, trapping him right in the middle and preventing him from escaping. Pansy was smiling and was trying to sidle up to him but Draco just growled kept pushing her away, looking up helplessly across the room at her laughing expression. Blaise was also laughing at this from where he was dancing with Daphne several feet away, looking up and meeting Harry's grin with one of his own.

Once the Gryffindors had stopped the 'rain dance' and Harry found herself dancing and laughing with Oliver again, she failed to notice that she had become the unfortunate recipient of a _VERY _dangerous and angry glare from her fuming husband across the room. His eyes had darkened and he scowled at her, baring his teeth in a predatory growl as he literally tore through the crowd of Slytherin girls gathered around him and cut right through the dance floor towards her.

Still unaware of the dangerous predicament she had unwittingly placed herself into, Harry laughed again at something Oliver was saying and was just about to say something else when several sharp cries of pain and protest suddenly drew her attention to the right, forcing her to look away.

Her eyes immediately widened after that and she froze in horror as she caught sight of Draco rudely shoving his way through the crowd of dancing Hogwartians around them, ignoring their angry curses at him as he passed them by. As soon as she realized she was in trouble, Harry turned a sheepish smile back to Oliver and gestured frantically for him to take off before Draco reached them.

_"U—ugh…O—Oliver…? Go…GO NOW...GO NOW—"_

Fortunately, Oliver was smart enough to get the message immediately as soon as he caught sight of Draco's seething form approaching them. He hastily ploughed through the crowd in the opposite direction, tapping another Gryffindor girl for her attention and initiating a friendly dance.

_"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE'S THAT DISGUSTING LITTLE RUNT—"_

Harry couldn't help laughing helplessly and stopped Draco right in the middle of his hunt for blood. She grabbed him by his hand, pulling him closer against her so that she was pressed up against his tense form. His eyes hardened and he sneered down at her, trying to pull himself away from her arms so that he could look for Oliver again within the crowd of dancers that surrounded them.

_"_I'll deal with _YOU _later, _POTTER! _No one…_NO ONE _touches _YOU_ but _ME_! _NO ONE!_"

"Draco…?" Harry's voice was tinged with humor as she reached both hands up and turned his face toward her, her hands resting gently on his cheeks. Again, Draco tried to struggle against her and growled but Harry sighed and leaned in closer so that she could place a sweet, chaste kiss onto his lips.

"You silly Slytherin git…You're not listening to me…" She rewarded him with another sweet, longer kiss before pulling away and meeting his slowly softening silver eyes with a teasing grin. Draco scowled back at her in anger, his hands going down and wrapping possessively around her waist.

"I hate you…I really do."

Harry's eyes twinkled affectionately at his sullen tone of voice and she wrapped her arms tighter around her neck, pulling his face down slightly so that their foreheads were resting against each other. "You stupid, over-possessive jerk…You'll never change, will you?" Her voice sounded more amused than exasperated, finally earning a small reluctant smile from her slowly relenting husband.

"Do you _want _me to…?"

At his teasing smirk and the way that his arms were slowly beginning to wrap tighter around her small waist, she chuckled and couldn't prevent the cheeky grin that formed onto her face. The loud blaring music and the rest of the other dancers gathered around them slowly began to fade away now until she could see nothing else but his steel, gray orbs, all but melting when they met her own.

"Now where's the fun in that…?"

At her defiant remark, Draco's tense shoulders finally loosened and he smirked seductively at her again, his eyes flicking back down and trailing heatedly up and down the curves of her body.

"Have I _told _you that you look particularly _delectable _in that dress...? I wonder how it would look on the floor of our bedroom later tonight…" His drawling voice trailed off suggestively and he licked his lips, the look on his face causing his wife to blush but roll her eyes at his never-ending lust.

"Do you _EVER _think of anything else besides _SEX_, Draco…?"

Draco blinked and just smirked at her, arching a single eyebrow as though he found the very thought of her question too insignificant to answer. Sighing and fighting back a laugh, Harry shook her head, unconsciously pulling herself closer against him as she bit her lip and forced herself to speak up.

"Actually, 'Co…Since we're already on that subject…There's really something I have been meaning to tell you lately…I—it's about…Well…H—how do I say this…Uhm…"

Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to say but unfortunately, her husband didn't seem to be listening to her and seemed more focus on trying to molest her with his eyes.

"_DRACO!" _

"What?!"

The Malfoy Head blinked himself out of his own raunchy thoughts and looked up at her in surprise, grinning impishly when he was met with Harry's exasperated glare.

"I'm sorry…What were you saying…?"

Harry blew her hair out of her face, growling when he continued to stare at her breasts.

"Draco, I'm _REALLY _trying to tell you something important over here! Listen, I'm preg—"

"Is there any chance I can get you drunk, tonight?"

"_DRACO!" _

Draco finally began laughing at her angry expression, wrapping his hands back around her waist and rewarding her with a teasing smile as he gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "I was _kidding, _Harry… What is it? And don't worry, 'I' won't toss Wood's sorry carcass off the London Bridge tonight—" He crossed his fingers behind his back as he said this but Harry wasn't listening anymore.

"Oh _YOU…ARGH!" _

She reached for something buried in the pocket of her dress and began bustling with her left hand, ignoring Draco's threats as he brought his eyes back up to glare at Oliver across the room.

"I'm going to skin that stupid little pretty boy alive…He's not to be trusted! He's a bloody—"

"…'Co?"

Blinking and looking back down at her at the sound of her deceptively innocent voice, Draco arched an eyebrow and frowned in confusion when he found himself face to face with another poorly made sock puppet resting on her hand – the sight of which causing him to pull back in annoyance.

"What the hell—_POTTER?!"_

Harry ignored his reaction and brought the sock puppet up higher against the brightly colored club lights around them, finally allowing Draco to see that it was of a soft shade of baby pink. It took the former Head Boy several minutes of staring dumbly at her in stunned confusion before it all finally came crashing down and hit him – causing his jaw to drop open and his face to pale in realization.

"Wh—what…I—Uh…Is—is that…U—uhm…I—I uh…"

His wife's smile widened at his uncharacteristic ineloquence and raised the pink puppet back up to his face, moving its mouth with her fingers and speaking up in a high, falsetto voice.

"_Hello father…I'm going to be the most beautiful little baby girl you've ever seen…You're going to love me because I'm going to your very own little princess…I'm the perfect girl­—_Draco? You okay?"

_**THUD!**_

She brought the sock puppet back down and chuckled to herself in amusement, shaking her head as she flicked her eyes to the floor and smirked at her husband's pale, unconscious form.

"…Never fails…"

Still smirking and her eyes twinkling with hilarity, Harry shoved the sock puppet back into her dress pocket before grinning and joining the rest of the Gryffindors in another happy rain dance.

* * *

_**THUD!**_

The ink-covered tip of Draco's expensive feather quill slipped right across the neat business report on his desk at the sound of a rather loud thud from the corridor outside his office – followed by what seemed to be Garrett and Gabriel's high-pitched squeals and giggles echoing not too far away.

Shaking his head and forcing himself to ignore this, Draco briefly adjusted his silver reading frames before dipping his quill into the bottle of ink again – pausing to re-gather his thoughts. Right in front of him, several dozen magical paintings of all the previous Heads of the Malfoy family before him stared right back at him as though in admonishment, shaking their head at his unproductiveness.

Wincing sheepishly at all his glaring ancestors, he pointedly tore his eyes away and took a long sip from the mug of coffee in front of him, setting it down gently onto the table before pulling the next batch of financial reports towards him. He poured over them for several more minutes, pausing every now and then to make a few comments along the edges before moving on to the next page.

_Hmm…Company's doing relatively better since the plague ended…_He mused to himself, arching an eyebrow in thought before moving onto the next report on his desk. It took him a couple more minutes to read more of these before he found his peaceful work silence interrupted again – this time by _another _distinct 'thud' outside that sounded much closer to his office.

_What in the world—_

Just as he was on the verge of standing up and stalking over to inspect where the noise had come from, he stopped when he heard Garrett and Gabriel high-pitched giggling again, their rushed baby toddles echoing distinctly along the long silent hallways of Malfoy Manor. More curious than confused at this point, Draco stood up from his desk and was about to walk towards the door again when another sound suddenly broke the silence, one that brought an exasperated look to his face.

"_WAAAAAH! _You two are getting _FASTER _by the minute! Don't either of you ever tire out?!"

Draco heard Harry's exhausted exclamation right before another thud followed and Garrett and Gabriel were squealing again, another series of footsteps resounding along the silent hallways. Raising an eyebrow in mild amusement, Draco shook his head to himself and walked back to his office desk, chuckling under his breath just as he heard Harry and the twins' exclamations fading away.

Eventually, his surroundings fell silent once more and Draco was able to sit back down again, taking another sip of his coffee as he turned his attention back to his work. Within the next hour, he was able to get more of his work done and just as he was nearing the end of a very long – and incidentally very _boring _marketing report, his concentration was broken again by _another _loud squeal.

_"MOMMY! GWEEN! HEEHEE!" _

_Er…What…? _

Draco's eyebrows fused together at the sound of the twins' exclamation and he stood up again, placing his quill back onto the table and removing his glasses from his face. Walking over to stand just by the double doors to his office, he listened intently as he heard more of his son's squeals outside – followed by Harry laughing and telling them loudly to stay put in their place as she 'went in'.

Yanking open the doors to his office, Draco was just on the verge of letting out a properly-formed scathing remark to his mischievous wife when to his surprise, a green blob of…_something…_suddenly caught his vision as it came flying right at his stunned, confused face.

_"_What the bloody—"

_**SPLAT!**_

A green-faced Harry burst out laughing and jumped up and down in triumph amidst Garrett and Gabriel's simultaneous giggles, a horde of different colored globs balanced in her hands. She began laughing harder at Draco's furious, indignant glare at her and pointed to him with a grin, flicking her eyes to her green-faced twin sons and giving both toddlers a conspiratorial wink.

"_ATTAAAAAAACK!" _

Draco's eyes widened in indignant horror and he stepped back away from them in panic.

"N—now, hold on a second! This is my favorite suit, you c—can't—"

Garrett, Gabriel and Harry all ignored the rest of his sharp protests and began bombarding him with dozens of green-colored globs – all of which splattered noisily into what appeared to be green paint that he soon found covering his entire body. Draco yelped, protested and eventually backed himself away from them in mortification, managing to wipe the paint off his pale face long enough so that he could blink up and stare speechlessly into his twin sons' identical giggling faces.

Harry stood just right behind them and looked as though she was having trouble controlling her own laughter as well, her entire form _and _face covered completely in the same green paint that was now all over Draco's form. Pointedly choosing to look away from the horrifying death glare Draco was now sending her, she turned back to her giggling sons and gave them both a bright grin.

"Now Daddy's green too!"

Giggling again and nodding eagerly at her words, both young Malfoy sons looked up and shot their father identical smiles. Draco was still wiping the green paint off his face as he stared back at them, noting their slowly growing wide eyes and the way they were beginning to back away from him.

Sensing their identical, mischievous grins and the impending squeals that were threatening to erupt from both of the twins, Harry took one look at the pretend growl that was beginning to form on Draco's face and grinned, turning around and giving her twin sons a look of warning.

"Oh no…Daddy's a big green monster! _RUN! RUN! RUN!" _

She ended up collapsing into laughter again when the twins immediately heeded her warning and squealed loudly, whirling around and racing down the long Malfoy Manor corridor just as Draco had growled again and took off after them – yanking the remaining green globs from Harry's hands.

"You little…_SQUIRTS! _Come back here!"

* * *

Their footsteps thudded loudly along the carpeted floors of the hallways and Harry watched them with a small smile on her face as they turned the corner, disappearing completely out of her line of vision. Shaking her head with a laugh, she was just about to take off after them when a sudden movement in the corner of her eye suddenly caught her attention, forcing her to turn to her side.

Her green eyes widened slightly in surprise when she caught sight of the beautiful, distinctly _familiar_ owl that was slowly making its way toward her from one of the open windows. She froze in place, waiting patiently for it to reach her. As soon as it did and gently deposited the elegantly wrapped envelope into her hand, it gave a proud hoot and looked pointedly at her to wait for a reply.

Harry glanced at the owl for a second before slowly opening the letter in her hands, her eyebrows furrowing when she recognized the Hogwarts Seal stamped onto the envelope's top flap.

_Hmm…Hogwarts Seal…That could only mean…_

Sure enough, as she opened the envelope, her eyes widened at the sight of Albus Dumbledore's familiar handwriting – along with the official Hogwarts Crest marked onto the parchment. Taking a few steps backward to lean against the wall behind her, Harry quirked an eyebrow and read through the letter with a thoughtful, amused smile slowly growing on her face.

One she had finished, she set the letter back down and blinked thoughtfully to herself for a long moment, her eyes staring off into the far distance as she pondered the letter's suggestion.

_Hmm…Well…What do you know…That's a rather interesting thought…_

"_WHOO. WHOO." _

Laughing in surprise and blinking herself out of her self-induced daze at the sound of the owl's impatient hoot at her, Harry quickly grabbed her quill out of her pocket and walked over to Draco's office table. She paused for several seconds to gather her thoughts before bending down and quickly scribbling a short reply onto the back of the letter's parchment, whispering her own words out loud.

'_**Thank you for the opportunity, Headmaster. Not right now…But soon perhaps…Very…Very soon.'**_

Then, walking back over to the waiting owl and tying the parchment neatly around his leg, she gave him a grateful pat on his head before sending him back off out the window. As it hooted one last time and flew away, Harry watched it disappear off into the distance, her thoughts still lingering on Dumbledore's letter and the chain of ideas it had set off into motion inside her head.

She didn't have long to ponder on her thoughts, however, as a loud and _VERY _angry sounding voice suddenly broke through her musings, forcing her to whip around and cringe in realization.

"_DRACO! JAIMEE! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS ALL THIS GREEN PAINT DOING SCATTERED AROUND THE MANOR?! AND STOP WITH THAT BLOODY RUCKUS! I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF MY NAP!" _

Wincing instantly in sheepish embarrassment at the bellowing sound of Lawrence Malfoy's furious voice echoing throughout the entire Manor, the Malfoy Mistress let out a high-pitched meep that sounded strangled with nervousness before paling and tearing through the halls after her sons.

* * *

**A/N**: Technically speaking, the story formally ends with _THIS _chapter. :D _YAYNESS _for Oliver Wood's short appearance here. I just _LOVE _drawing out Jealous!Draco. And I figured…What better way to do it than to have to bring in another hot guy? Hahaha. _YAYNESS _for sock puppets too! Poor Draco! :P

**Next Chapter: **EPILOGUE! EPILOGUE! EPILOGUE! Who's up for it? :D

But first…As always…**PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS! MWAH! CHEERS! :D**


	21. Epilogue

**Title: The Perfect Wife**

**Author: **slytherin-nette

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.

**Pairings: **DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.

**Warnings: **This is a **Post-Hogwarts **story so it will be _slightly _more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains **PREGNANCY, RATED **scenes and **SLASH** relationships.

**A/N**: I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I have been DYING to write it! :D Lots of love! :D

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Epilogue**

_"GARRETT DRACO MALFOY! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" _

A pair of amused and exasperated emerald green eyes blinked in surprise and peered up from the pages of a rather thick textbook to stare up the living room staircase. Several rushed thuds and loud grumbles of complaints echoed from the rooms upstairs of the large Godric Hollow estate that morning – followed by Garrett Potter Malfoy's equally loud but slightly annoyed response.

_"I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN, FATHER! I'M JUST FIXING MY HAIR!!!" _

Sighing and setting his magical spell book down onto his lap, Gabriel Potter Malfoy laughed to himself and stood up slowly from the couch, walking over to the foot of the stairs where he had already deposited his trunk and all his belongings. As he walked over, his newly bought eagle owl, _Caia_, gave him a hoot of acknowledgement from where she was perched in her cage atop his trunk.

Just beside her, Garrett's slightly darker eagle owl, _Saber, _simply stared at him, its dark eyes peering intently at him as though he was trying to find out if he was his owner or not. Giving the proud, male owl a small grin and shake of his head to indicate that he wasn't Garrett, Saber relaxed – and Gabriel went back over so he could reach out and ruffle Caia's feathers in greeting.

"Good morning, girl…Are you as excited to go to Hogwarts as I am…? Let's hope everything turns out well, huh…?" Gabriel grinned as Caia answered him with a hoot of agreement and nipped his finger affectionately in response. As he sat down onto the edge of his trunk and waited a couple more minutes by playing with Caia's feathers, Garrett soon appeared at the very top of the staircase – a slight scowl on his handsome face and _Sylens_, their pet snake, wrapped around his neck.

At the sight of his older twin brother, Gabriel offered the other Malfoy son an amused smile and gestured briefly to the wristwatch on his wrist. "Good morning, Gar…Slept in this morning, did we…? Father specifically told us last night that we had to leave early today." He told him, hiding a laugh when Garrett just answered him with a single glare as he stalked down the stairs.

The older Malfoy was still busy slicking back his blonde hair from his face with several amounts of hair wax, pausing every now and then to peer at his reflection from the wall mirrors.

"Speak for yourself…I didn't sleep in! I was busy fixing my hair…Besides, what's all the rush anyway? It's not like the train will leave without us." He drawled back arrogantly just as he hopped from the last step and stalked over to his own trunk, reaching out and patting Saber on the head.

Gabriel raised a single eyebrow at him and frowned, watching as his brother began busying himself with fiddling with the contents of his trunk to get his wand. "Uhm…Gar…I think it _will._ I remember Mom telling me this story once of how the Hogwarts Express left her and Uncle Ron—"

He stopped and rolled his eyes when Garrett no longer seemed to be listening to a word he was saying. The older Malfoy was now busy fussing with the collar of his shirt and gesturing briefly for _Sylens_ to slither and curl up his arm instead so he could fix his shirt. His attention suddenly drawn to the familiar snake, Gabriel fused his eyebrows again and set his book back down onto his lap.

"By the way, Gar…Are you _sure _that first years are allowed to bring in a _SNAKE _to Hogwarts? I also remember the letter saying only owls, cats, rats, and _toads_ were allowed in." He reminded him pointedly, gesturing to Sylens again as the snake curled itself around Garrett's upper arm.

Garrett let out a derisive scoff, turning around so he could level his twin brother an irritated glare. "Oh stop nagging me already, Riel! Besides…If they aren't, I'll just write a complaint about it to Grandfather and he'll force the board of school directors to change the rules for me. _DUH._" He smirked and sniggered to himself as though he found Gabriel's question too stupid to even consider.

Instead of feeling irritated at his brother's response, Gabriel was pretty much used to it at this point and just sighed again – looking up and sharing a look of pointed look with Sylens in amusement.

_"I don't know how you manage to fit around his neck with his big head anymore, Sylens…" _He hissed in parseltongue, drawing the snake's immediate attention as it seemed to smirk back and gave him a similar look of amusement that did not go unnoticed by Garrett's narrowed green eyes.

_"Sometimes…Master Riel…I ask myself the same question…"_

_"I HEARD that you two." _

Gabriel stifled a round of sniggers with his hand at the sound of Garrett's annoyed, parseltongue retort at them and stood up from his trunk, placing his book back into one of his bags. He was just about to speak up again when he finally heard his father's approaching footsteps coming from the other room, causing both twins to turn around instantly as he entered.

Decked out in elegant robes of black and looking just as young and handsome as ever as he did nine years ago, a slightly irritated Draco Malfoy strode right into the living room towards them – a small bag of floo powder in one hand and the small, pale hand of the twin's little sister in his other.

At the sight of her two older brothers, the doll-like and slightly flushed face of Hailene Antoinette Malfoy – as Draco had so specifically named her – looked up at them – her bright silver eyes looking misty with tears. She sniffed once and buried her face against her father's cloak, hugging her beautiful porcelain doll closer to her chest as she followed her father into the living room.

Draco was unaware of his daughter's reaction, however, as he shot a slightly sheepish Garrett a warning glare – the glinting look in his eyes instantly causing his older son to cringe in nervousness.

"Garrett…We are _FIFTEEN MINUTES_ behind schedule. As the Head of this family, I will _NOT_ put up with such reckless _IRRESPONSIBILITY _from _MY OWN _son…Is that understood?!"

Gabriel muffled another round of sniggers as he watched Garrett's face flush darker in embarrassment at their father's harsh reprimand. The older Malfoy son nodded meekly and grudgingly began to gather his things into his arms, choosing to ignore the pointed smirk Gabriel was giving him.

Draco kept his cold glare on Garrett's embarrassed face and waited until his two sons had followed him to the Floo-Connected fireplace in the middle of their living room, tapping his foot impatiently onto the floor in his growing agitation. As soon as both twins had gathered their things, Draco raised his wand and flicked it over the fireplace – igniting a beautiful fire right in front of them.

As their father was busy with setting the fire, Hailene – or 'Hale' as her mother so liked to call her – took one look up at Garrett's flushed face and stuck her tongue out at him in avid disdain, instantly causing Garrett's scowl to darken as he growled and answered her with a mocking sneer.

"Hey…_Brat-face…_You're got a _SPIDER_ in your hair!"

Hale's bright silver eyes widened fearfully at once at his words right before she burst into tears and buried her face into Draco's cloak again, clutching on tighter onto the Malfoy Head's hand.

"_DAD—DY!!!!! GARRETT'S TEASING ME AGAIN!!!" _

More than used to this little exchange at this point, Draco glanced back down just as he was opening up the pouch of floo powder in his hands. He shot his wincing son another cold, warning glare.

"No allowance for a week."

"B—but…Father, you can't—!"

Garrett's eyes widened and he could do nothing but sputter in his indignation when Hale immediately stopped crying and looked back up to stick her tongue at him again, giggling when her older brother's eyes flashed and he began baring his teeth at her in a furious, irritated growl.

"Why you little—"

His father cut off the rest of Garrett's growling threat as he tossed a handful of floo powder into the fireplace, shoved his older son right into the bright green flames and nodded for him to go on.

The rest of Garrett's properly formed, scathing retort to his younger sister died on his lips as he grumbled and rolled his eyes. He cleared his throat before shouting out their proper destination.

"_DIAGON ALLEY!" _

As soon as Garrett had disappeared off and Draco was about to toss another pinch of floo powder into the fire, Gabriel took that opportunity to kneel down and kiss his little sister's mane of pig-tailed, silver-blonde hair. Hale giggled at this and smiled sweetly up at him, her eyes lighting up.

"Gabriel…You're next."

Draco pushed his younger son lightly into the green fire again, watching as Gabriel winced and coughed several times before finally managing to clear his throat enough to speak out loud.

_"DIAGON ALLEY!" _

When he had gone and all that was left was for Draco to magically shrink their trunks, Hale blinked up and began tugging on her father's hand again—drawing the Malfoy Head's attention to her curious eyes. Looking back down, he couldn't help smiling as he was met once again with her beautiful face – which despite her blonde hair and silver eyes – already looked so much like her mother's.

_"_Daddy…? Where's Mommy? Isn't she going to see Garrett and Gabriel off today?"

Her questions did nothing but incite another knowing and slightly mysterious grin onto her father's face as he bent down and rewarded her with a kiss on her forehead. He flicked his wand over the twin's things before grabbing her hand again, carefully placing the shrunk items into his pockets.

"Unfortunately, your mother had some…paperwork…to take care of. She'll be back tonight."

Hale's eyebrows fused together in confusion but just as she was about to ask her father what he meant by that, Draco had already lifted her up into his arms and walked right into the green fire.

"_DIAGON ALLEY!" _

* * *

"Ugh…Can you _believe_ that first years aren't allowed to bring broomsticks? How utterly _plebian _of them, first thing I'm going to do is complain to the Headmaster about their blasted rules! I can't even try out for the Quidditch team until second year! It's all a bunch of _rubbish, _you know!"

As he followed his twin brother down the packed London Station later on that morning towards the platform, Gabriel began to groan out loud, wanting nothing more than to strap on a pair of earmuffs onto his ears. Highly amused at his reaction, Sylens had crawled down from Garrett's neck and had slithered up Gabriel's arm instead, shaking his head at Garrett's loud, boastful complaints.

_"He's ALREADY grating on my nerves…Merlin! I know he's my twin brother but I can't believe I'm going to spend a whole YEAR with just him! I'm going to go crazy!" _Gabriel hissed irritably to Sylens in parseltongue so that Garrett wouldn't hear, seemingly causing the snake to smirk in reply.

When Garrett did nothing but continue on with how he was going to talk to Grandfather about all of the 'injustice against the first years', Gabriel eventually tuned him out and followed Draco and Hale's forms silently through the bustling crowd in the station – stopping every now and then to avoid a passing muggle or two whenever they crossed their path. He and Garrett were pushing their trolleys along as they walked, finally stopping when their father had led them to a small barrier.

Turning around with a small smirk on his face, Draco raised an eyebrow at his twin sons' utterly bewildered expressions at him and gestured to the barrier in growing impatience.

"Well…? Go on, then! Hurry on up before any of these _FILTHY _muggles see us! Go on!"

Garrett and Gabriel shared a look of question with each other before staring at the barrier again, shaking their heads at their father's instructions in utter confusion. Hale giggled at their identical expressions and began to imitate her father, pointing excitedly to the barrier as well.

"Go on! Go on! You both look so _SILLY!" _

Draco smirked at his daughter's words and finally reached forward, tugging onto Garrett's hand and shoving him towards the stone barrier. "Really, you two…I expected better intelligence and comprehension skills from _MY _sons. I suppose you get your naiveté from your blasted mother—"

Garrett's eyes widened and he began struggling furiously against his father's hold as the Malfoy Head began shoving him closer and closer towards the hard, _STONE _barrier up ahead.

"N—now, wait a second! H—hold on! Th—that looks like it hurts! F—father?! _FATHER, WAIT—"_

Gabriel and Hale both began laughing as Garrett soon disappeared within the barrier, followed by his trolley and belongings as Draco shoved them in after him as well. Then, nodding to Gabriel the same way, the younger Malfoy took the hint and began to walk towards the barrier as well – pausing only in mild confusion to turn around and shoot his father a look of suspicious query.

"Father…You said Mom wouldn't be able to see us off today…Where is she exactly…?"

Draco just grinned and winked at him, reaching down and ruffling Hale's pigtails again.

"Let's just say…Well…You and Garrett will see her very…_very _soon."

Gabriel didn't bother asking any further questions as he arched an eyebrow but shrugged, turning back around and rushing through the barrier with his trolley carrying his trunk and belongings. As soon as he had gotten through and he caught sight of his twin brother's figure rushing over to where some of his friends had already gathered near the very back of the station, Gabriel took a deep intake of breath and began to run after him – rushing in while pushing his trolley with his hands.

He didn't get far, however, as pretty soon – his eyes widened just before he collided rather _sharply _with just another trolley headed in the opposite direction, automatically causing him, his things, _and _the other person he had bumped into to come crashing down into a heap on the ground.

Wincing in pain and cursing himself repeatedly in his head, Gabriel jumped back up onto his feet in alarm – a whole horde of rushed apologies already beginning to issue from his lips.

"Oh…_Bugger! _I'm sorry! I'm _terribly _sorry, it was _my _fault! I wasn't watching where I was going and I—" He stopped right in the middle of his sentence and froze up, blood immediately rushing into his pale cheeks. He caught sight of the figure of a petite girl about his age with bright blue eyes and long, chestnut brown hair looking right back at him with a sheepish smile on her face.

A couple of freckles lined her cheeks and she wore a pair of framed glasses but her eyes positively glowed as she grinned at him, reaching to pick up his fallen sketchbook from the ground. Gabriel heard Sylens hissing something into his ear but he ignored him, reaching down as well and hastily beginning to gather the girls' fallen schoolbooks and things from the ground.

"U—uh…I—I'm terribly sorry…I really am, I—"

The girl laughed once before holding up his sketchbook to his face, gesturing to the sketch right on the first page. "Wow…She's really beautiful…Who is she…?" She asked curiously, drawing Gabriel's attention to the picture he had drawn of his mother when she had been asleep.

Blushing profusely under the girl's intent gaze, Gabriel reached out and hastily took the sketchbook from her hands, shoving it back into his bag in embarrassment. "M—my…My mother…"

The girl in front of him smiled again and nodded, reaching out and taking her books from his hands. When Gabriel seemed unable to say anything to her for those next moments, the girl spoke up again – biting her lip and gesturing to the Hogwarts Express in front of them in mild embarrassment.

"Do you mind if I ask you where the entrance to the train is…? I'm terribly sorry…It's just that…Well…I'm a muggleborn and my parents don't have a clue as well actually and…Uhm—"

She stopped talking when several chattering voices suddenly interrupted her from behind, causing both her and Gabriel to look up into the friendly faces of the two he could only assume to be the girls' parents. His suspicions proved correct, however, as the two brunettes grinned down at their daughter and turned their attention to him, their eyes widening when they pondered the situation.

"Oh…Annie! Have you made a new friend already, sweetheart…? Is he a wizard too…? Oh this is all so _exciting_, isn't it? George, do you suppose that train will _fly _when it takes off? How fabulous!"

Unable to prevent a laugh when he noticed the look of apologetic embarrassment that 'Annie' was sending his way, Gabriel shook his head and rewarded both adults with a polite smile.

"The train entrance is right over there_, Annie_…? Was it? I'm Gabriel…Again, I'm sorry to have bumped into you like that. I'll be going now…" Just as he had turned to leave, Annie's mother spoke up again – her full attention suddenly focused on the young Malfoy son in slowly growing realization.

"Wait a minute, dear boy…Your face looks _awfully _familiar…Where have I seen it before—"

_"GABRIEL HARRY MALFOY! GET OVER HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" _

Wincing again at the sound of his father's impatient, growling voice, Gabriel shot Annie _and _her parents another apologetic smile before taking off – pushing his trolley of belongings hurriedly in front of him. As soon as he caught sight of his father's tall frame right by the end of the train where he was standing with several of their family friends – his godparents Uncle Ron and Aunt Lorraine included, Gabriel sighed and walked over to them, stopping just as he reached his twin brother.

Garrett took one look at Gabriel's slightly flushed face and mussed-up blonde hair before sneering and shaking his head, rolling his eyes at his twin's appearance. "Honestly, Riel…I keep _telling _you to gel your hair back like mine. Otherwise, it's going to keep flying all over your face like that! It isn't seemly." He complained in annoyance, gesturing for Sylens to crawl back up his arm.

Choosing to ignore his brother's implied insult and halfheartedly attempting to fix his hair, he turned back around and met his Uncle Ron's grin of amusement at him. "Hmm…If Gabriel starts doing _that, _Garrett…Then I'm afraid we won't be able to tell you two apart anymore. It's hard enough as it is." He kidded lightly, grinning as he looked up and offered Draco a similar smirk.

The Malfoy Head didn't react to this and merely sneered back at him, shaking his head at the other man in obvious dislike. Lorraine saw this expression and shot her older cousin a fierce glare, the warning in her expression causing Draco immediately to roll his eyes but offer Ron a brief nod.

"Weasley…Lorraine…" His eyes softened slightly when he flicked his eyes down and gave the beautiful redheaded 13-year-old holding onto Ron's hand a similar nod of greeting. "…Francesca…I'm glad to see that you've taken on more Malfoy genes than that of your disgusting father's."

He winced when Lorraine's beautiful features flared up quickly into hostile veela form, immediately causing the Malfoy Head to take several steps backwards amidst Ron and Gabriel's laughter. Chessie had wrinkled her face at Draco's words and shook her head at him in disagreement.

"Ew…Uncle Draco…_Please _don't call me by my first name! It doesn't sound right!" She shuddered for effect and if anything, Draco returned her look with one of his own as he shook his head and gave her a discontented scowl. "Then don't call me _'Uncle Draco' _either! Ugh…It sounds…_Wrong!" _

Gabriel hid a laugh at his father's reaction and managed to look up just in time to see Garrett's own godparents – their Uncle Blaise and Aunt Hermione—making their way towards them with Elliot trailing right behind. As soon as the young Zabini son saw Chessie waving to him, his face lit up immediately and he waved back, rushing over to her and giving his best friend a warm hug.

Garrett made a face when he saw this and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to watching the crowd of students gathering near the train. Hermione had rewarded both Malfoy sons a kiss to the forehead when she had arrived while Blaise gave them both a grin before walking over to stand beside Draco, laughing as he clapped his scowling best friend lightly on the back.

"Hey Drac…You finally joined the throng of parents sending the kids off to school, did you? Where's Potter…? Isn't she going to see the twins off?" Blaise watched as Draco's smirk widened and he shook his head, leaning over to whisper something to him so that his sons' couldn't hear.

Unaware of their conversation, Elliot and Chessie had both looked up and gave Garrett, Gabriel and Hale warm smiles of greeting. "Hey you two…You're finally going to Hogwarts this year! Hope you get into Gryffindor! It's the best of all houses!" Chessie chirped cheerfully at them and she was immediately echoed by her younger sister behind her from where she held onto Lorraine's hand.

"Gryffindor is the _BEST _of all _BEST! _Daddy says so!" A silver-blonde Natalie Weasley chirped out loud with a nod behind her sister, earning herself a rather disgruntled glare from Hale.

"Nuh-uh! _MY _Daddy says _SLYTHERIN _is the best of all houses! Not Gryffindor!" She stuck her tongue out at the other girl in haughty annoyance, eliciting a laugh from all the adults around her.

Elliot reached over and whacked Chessie lightly on the head, smirking and turning around to clap Garrett and Gabriel lightly on the shoulders. "Don't listen to her…I'm looking forward to having you both join me in Slytherin alright? You're Malfoys, you're _meant _to be in Slytherin anyway!"

Garrett seemed to smirk in agreement at his comment but Gabriel just frowned, looking up in question to see that even Draco was smirking at them with a look of self-assurance on his face. He was just about to ask him if that 'all Malfoys belong in Slytherin' comment was true when Hale broke the silence again by looking around the area, her silver eyes blinking up at her father in question.

"Daddy…? Where's Aidan…? I thought we could play together today…" She began scowling impatiently after she said this and at the mention of Ginny and Anton's 9-year-old son, Hermione laughed and answered Hale's question for her by reaching down and ruffling her silver blonde pigtails.

"He isn't supposed to go to Hogwarts yet, sweetheart…Much like you aren't yet. I think he's waiting for you at the Manor right now…You can go there after you see your brothers off."

Hale's smile brightened at Hermione's comment and she nodded, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she moved her head. Draco couldn't help chuckling at the adorable sight and was just about to speak to his daughter again when another trio soon joined them. He looked up, scowling immediately after when he was met with the sight of Luna and Daniel Longbottom walking up to them.

At the sight of his longtime childhood best friend, Gabriel immediately grinned and exchanged a high five with Daniel – the sight of which causing both Garrett _and _Draco to roll their eyes. As Luna exchanged greetings with everyone else, Daniel reached up and gave Gabriel a punch to the shoulder.

"Hey Riel! Long time no see! Where's Aunt Jaimee…? Isn't she with you?" Daniel had frowned when he looked up and found that his favorite Aunt wasn't there but Gabriel just shrugged and answered him with an equally confused frown. "I don't know either, actually…Father says she has some important papers to finish up this morning. Speaking of which, where's _YOUR _father, Dan?"

Daniel grinned proudly and answered his best friend with a wink. "Dad's on another mission for the Ministry…He won't be back until tomorrow. He's Head Auror, after all…What do you expect?" His voice sounded filled with pride as he spoke that it called Garrett's attention from beside Gabriel.

The older Malfoy twin sneered in derision and shook his head, flicking his gaze up and giving his amused father a discontented scowl. "Great…And you told me just _yesterday _that even Uncle Byron is off on some 'secret' mission for the Ministry as well. And he's Head Unspeakable…Why is it that everyone else's jobs seem so much more _interesting _than yours and Mom's, Father…?"

Chuckling helplessly at his older son's complaint, Draco smirked down at him and reached over so he could adjust Garrett's shirt and collar more neatly. "Oh well…_Excuse us _for not being 'interesting parents' enough for you, Garrett…Your mother and I try our _best, _you know."

Garrett sighed in frustration at his father's evasive response, turning back around and tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for more students to arrive. Within the next five minutes that elapsed, his own longtime childhood best friend – James Vallehan Black – had also arrived and ran over to greet them, clapping Garrett several times in excitement on the older Malfoy son's back.

"Hey everyone! Hey Gar! Wicked, you're finally going to join me in Hogwarts! We're going to _RULE _the school!" He and Garrett exchanged smirks and a couple of signature handshakes – the sight of which causing Sirius and Regina to laugh as they eventually joined the largely forming group.

As soon as he caught sight of Draco's stiff figure, Sirius grinned wider and slapped his nephew _hard _on the back – causing the Malfoy Head to wince in annoyance at his presence. "_MALFOY!_ Good to see you! Taking care of my little Prongslet, I hope? Ah, look at them! All so grown up! How time flies!" He grinned widely and gestured to James and Garrett in amusement, oblivious to Draco's angry sneer.

"Yes…It does…Unfortunately it seems to slow down whenever I'm around _you_, Black_._"

Sirius glared at him while all the other adults – including Regina – laughed at Draco's sarcastic retort, causing the children to momentarily pause their conversations so they could look up. When the adults began talking amongst themselves again, they all shrugged and eventually tuned them out – returning immediately to their own little worlds as they initiated as many conversations as possible.

"Did you check out the selection of broomsticks on display today, Gar? Bloody wicked, they are! I'm hoping I can convince Dad to buy me the newest model of the Firebolt! My sister Keira says I can already try out for the Quidditch team this year! I'm of age, you know!" James ranted proudly to Garrett with a grin, causing his best friend to grunt back and answer him with an irritated scowl.

"Yeah, yeah…Rub it in, why don't you?! It's bad enough that I can't bring my Firebolt with me this year but I can't join the Quidditch team too?! Ugh…Bloody idiots, the lot of them! Perhaps I can convince Father to talk to the teachers for me so I can—_HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" _

The rest of Garrett's drawling response was abruptly interrupted when a purple-robed figure out of nowhere suddenly came crashing against him from behind – forcing him to whip around and glare at the offending person in fierce anger. A pale, black-haired girl – some amounts of baby fat still lingering on her cheeks and limbs – glared right back at him and returned his scowl with her own.

"Geez…I'm _SORRY! _I didn't _MEAN _to bump into you, _MALFOY! _I just lost control of the trolley! Besides… You didn't even _TRY _to avoid me because you were too busy yakking away all that hot air! I'm surprised that snake around your neck hasn't died yet from all your bad breath!"

At the sight of Olivia Winchester, the daughter of his family's relatively more _disliked _pureblood acquaintances, Garrett's sneer hardened and he turned around fully so he could face her – his green eyes narrowing mockingly as they flicked up and down her slightly chubby form.

"Wow…For once, you're actually _right, _Winchester…How could I _NOT _have seen you coming with your humongous, _WHALE-LIKE _body coming right at me?! I wonder how many chocolate frogs you've eaten today…You're certainly beginning to _LOOK _like one anyway!" He and James both immediately burst into taunting sniggers after he said this, both boys laughing harder when they caught sight of Olivia's slightly tearful eyes and how she was seething with anger at Garrett's words.

"_WHY YOU…Y—YOU STUPID BLONDE JERK—"_

"_OLIVIA! OVER HERE! DO NOT ASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITH THAT FAMILY!" _

Still scowling as she looked up and met Garrett's wide, mocking sneer at her, she sniffed once before giving one indignant 'humph' and stalking off towards her father, Philippe Winchester, not too far away. Garrett and James both watched her go with matching smirks on their faces, shaking their heads in laughter when Olivia continued to ignore them and didn't bother turning back around.

"Can you _believe _that…_WHALE…_is going to my batchmate in Hogwarts?! Ugh…And I thought she would be attending Beauxbatons instead. It's bad enough I have to put up with her disgusting face during pureblood gatherings, I have to see her in school too?" Garrett shuddered to himself, wincing in pain moments later when Gabriel had reached over and gave him a hard whack on the head.

"_OW! WHAT THE—RIEL?! WHAT DID I DO NOW?!" _

James had pretty much lost all interest in the twins' antics and was now more focused on peering around Garrett's standing form to give a blushing Hale peering at him a wide, teasing grin. As soon as he had done this, however, the pig-tailed little girl blushed even darker and hid behind her father, causing James' mother to laugh softly in amusement to herself when she had seen this.

"Oh James, honey…Stop it! You're scaring her! Leave her alone!"

Hearing Regina's laughing, admonishing remark to her son, Draco stopped talking to Blaise long enough to look down in surprise, his eyebrows fusing in question when he saw that Hale was now hiding her embarrassed face against his cloak. Narrowing his eyes, Draco glanced back up again and at the sight of Sirius' grin several feet away, the Malfoy Head growled and shook his head slowly.

"_NOT _my daughter. _DON'T _even think about it, Black…Not _ONE _word."

Sirius' grin widened even more at the implied warning in Draco's words and he gave his son a mischievous wink, laughing when all James did was to blink up at him and shrug in confusion.

"What…Dad? Am I missing something here…?"

Before any one could attempt to answer James' bewildered question, everyone suddenly glanced up again as soon as they heard a loud whistling from the far end of the station – followed by the students gathered around them hurriedly rushing on towards the entrance of the train.

A tall, silver-blonde girl already decked out in her Ravenclaw Uniform and a Head Girl badge pinned right onto her robes began hurriedly making her way towards them as this happened, stopping only for a few moments to reward Draco and Lorraine with a brief kiss to the cheek in greeting.

"Everyone! The train's just about to leave! Get on board! Go on before you lose a seat!" Cherry-Lyn Malfoy Princeton – Hogwart's chosen Head Girl for that year – exclaimed, reaching out and helping Garrett and Gabriel along with their trunks as all the other kids began to gather their things.

As all of this happened, Hale's gray eyes immediately began to dampen with tears and she began to sniff to herself, watching sadly as her two twin brothers began picking up their things. Draco had let go of her hand for a couple of minutes to help his sons with their trolleys, walking them over to the nearest train entrance so that he could hand them their stuff as they got on board.

Just before they were stepping up onto the train however, Garrett and Gabriel both caught sight of Hale's tearful expression and stopped, turning back around to stare at her. While Garrett just arched an eyebrow and stuck his tongue at her in mock annoyance, Gabriel's features softened and he walked slowly towards his younger sister, kneeling down so he could pull her into a tight hug.

Hale hugged him back instantly and sniffed against him, waiting until her older brother had given her a kiss to the forehead before she pulled away and held her porcelain doll up to him.

"Cynthia wants a kiss goodbye too…" She told him pointedly and at that, Gabriel laughed and bent down to give the doll a kiss as well, pulling away so he could give his sister a playful wink.

"Don't you worry, Hale…I promise that Garrett and I will write to you _EVERYDAY _while we're at Hogwarts and that we'll send you lots of dolls and chocolates too! How about that?"

Garrett rolled his eyes at his brother's words and glanced pointedly at his watch in annoyance. "Do I _HAVE _to…? And chocolates…? Won't she get _FAT_ if we keep sending her those all the time?!"

One look at Gabriel's fiercely flashing green eyes was all it took for Garrett to wince to himself before sighing in defeat and rolling his eyes, walking reluctantly back over to his sister to give her a brief – and slightly awkward – hug as well. "Alright, alright…Whatever makes Princess Brat here happy... Just stop crying! You'll get tears all over my shirt…And no I will _not _kiss your doll! Ugh!"

Hale giggled at her older brother's irritated drawl but reached up and pressed her doll's face against Garrett's cheek anyway, causing the older Malfoy son to pull sharply away and groan in annoyance. "Ugh…That's _disgusting, _Hale! Gabriel just got his germs on that thing! Get away!"

Watching the picturesque scene from just a couple of steps away near the train, Draco bit back the tender smile that was fighting to break out on his face. He continued to look on in silence as Hale finally relinquished her hold on Garrett and allowed her two brothers to walk back to the train.

They stopped just as they reached their father, however, and looked up at him with identical, slightly formal expressions of farewell on their handsome faces. His traditional family breeding keeping him from doing anything else except nod at them in silence, Draco just gave them both a calm smirk. Fortunately, Garrett and Gabriel seemed to understand their father's unspoken affection perfectly and they gave him identical grins, their eyes already beginning to glow with their excitement.

"Father…Well…I suppose we'll—"

Draco's chuckled at Gabriel's attempt to say something and interrupted him by stepping up to his sons, reaching his hands up and placing them firmly on both their shoulders. The train's whistle began to blow behind them just as Draco looked down and gave them both one last wink and smirk.

"Go make me proud."

Garrett and Gabriel's eyes twinkled and they grinned up at him one last time before both Malfoy sons laughed and took off, running right into the train entrance _seconds _before it closed and the Hogwarts Express began to leave – a horde of students waving to their parents from the windows.

Draco walked over to Hale and hoisted her up into his arms, walking several steps forward after the train so he could watch and wave back to Garrett and Gabriel from where they peered out the window of the train. Both Malfoy sons were still waving to their father and sister when the train finally faded from their sight and sped off in the distance, the sight of which bringing a genuine smile to Draco's face as he was briefly reminded of his own unforgettable experiences back at Hogwarts.

Once the train was gone and most of the other families around them were already beginning to walk back to the station, Draco finally took notice of Hale's sniffling form in his arms. His 9-year-old daughter was still crying to herself as she hugged her doll tighter against her chest, her teary silver eyes lingering intently on the direction the Hogwarts Express had gone off towards.

"Princess…? Why are you crying? You'll see your brothers again soon, I promise…And after two more years, you'll get to go to Hogwarts with them too. Don't worry…Okay…?"

Hale's frown darkened and she glared up accusingly at him with misty gray eyes.

"…Humph…"

Draco let out an affectionate laugh at her reaction and hugged his daughter closer against him, tilting his head down so he could plant a kiss onto her forehead. Hale hiccupped and blinked up at him, her features creased into a scowl as she looked up into her father's teasing, handsome smile.

When she didn't say anything but continued to scowl and pout up at him in growing agitation, Draco relented and shook his head again, chuckling helplessly to himself as he hoisted her up onto his shoulders and began to walk them back towards the barrier leading out of the platform.

"Tell you what…Why don't I take you to your favorite doll shop in London today and buy you that big, beautiful dollhouse that Mommy wouldn't get for you…? How does that sound, my Princess?"

Hale's eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at her father with a confused expression.

"But Mommy said I couldn't have that dollhouse because I had so many already—"

Draco cut her off with an arrogant smirk, shaking his head at her in amusement.

"Lesson one, Princess…A Malfoy…Always…_ALWAYS…_gets what he or she wants."

* * *

"…_GRYFFINDOR!" _

Gabriel felt utterly and completely sick to the stomach at this point as he watched Daniel Longbottom hop off the stool in the center of the Hogwarts Great Hall that night – the loud cheers and welcoming exclamations from the Gryffindor table at the far right of the room greeting his entry.

Right beside him, he heard Garrett's arrogant, drawling voice as he continued to boast loudly to Penelope McConway standing beside him. The pretty, brunette girl – who was also incidentally one of the family acquaintances the twins had met before during many pureblood gatherings – had taken the liberty of latching onto Garrett's arm since they had met up on the train and was now listening intently to everything the Malfoy son was saying — including stuff about Quidditch and _himself. _

Rolling his eyes at his brother's antics, Gabriel reached up and tugged impatiently on the sudden tightness of his collar – flicking his eyes desperately around the large Great Hall. He saw a couple of familiar faces glancing back at him – Chessie and Victoire Weasley from the Gryffindor table, Elliot Zabini, James Black and Baxter Cunnngham from the Slytherin table and even Cherry-Lyn Princeton from the Ravenclaw table – all of which were watching him and Garrett in keen interest.

When Daniel had finally settled himself in with the other Gryffindor first years, he looked up and shot Gabriel a thumbs-up from across the hall. Unfortunately, this did nothing to soothe his nervousness as he began to break out into a nervous sweat – incited even further on when he saw the brief smile and curious stares he and Garrett were beginning to draw from all the Hogwarts teachers.

"Malfoy, Gabriel!"

As soon as Professor McGonagall had called his name out loud, Gabriel winced and flushed even more in embarrassment when the students around them began to whisper more loudly amongst themselves – followed by several pointing fingers at his and Garrett's forms. Gulping loudly and forcing himself to step up to the small stool situated in the center of the room, Gabriel looked up and managed to lock his wide green eyes with Professor Dumbledore's twinkling blue orbs.

The Hogwarts Headmaster looked as though he was trying hard not to show his laughter at the sight of him and sat back against his seat as he watched McGonagall lowering the hat onto Gabriel's head. Gabriel stiffened even more in panic when the hat eventually covered his vision, forcing him to wait in silence by staring blankly at the darkness that surrounded him.

_"Ah…A Potter AND a Malfoy, huh…? Most…Intriguing…I've been waiting to get inside your head, young Gabriel…" _Gabriel gulped again at the sound of the hat's voice flooding his head and clenched his fingers tightly around the stool's edge. Sensing his nervousness, the sorting hat chuckled and spoke up in an amused voice. "_Why so nervous, young Mister Malfoy…? Surely you should know already which house I'm going to place you in…It's in your lineage…And your heart, from what I see." _

As soon as he heard the sorting hat's words, Gabriel's spirits dampened and he sighed, rolling his eyes in reluctant defeat. "I suppose it's off to Slytherin then for me now, is it…?" He mumbled under his breath but to his surprise, the hat let out a chuckling laugh and began to speak up again.

"_Oh no…I was talking about your OTHER lineage, Mister Malfoy…For surely, you should know by now that you are most certainly a true—GRYFFINDOR!" _

The sorting hat had shouted the last word out for the entire Great Hall to hear and at once, everyone broke out into a flurry of different reactions. Over at the Gryffindor table, many of the students began to cheer and clap loudly for their newest housemate while the Slytherins looked shocked and were gaping at them in shock – unable to believe that a Malfoy could be in Gryffindor.

Gabriel ignored all their reactions, however, and was grinning widely when McGonagall had removed the sorting hat from his head. The Transfigurations Professor was also smiling as she watched Gabriel hop off the stool and rush over to join his new house, looking back and meeting his twin brother's questioning glare with a slightly sheepish smile and apologetic shrug.

Settling himself down onto the seat beside Daniel, they exchanged another high five before laughing and beginning to join the excited conversations of the other Gryffindors around them.

"Malfoy, Garrett!"

Still scowling and highly annoyed at having to be separated from his twin brother, Garrett rudely shrugged Penelope's hand off his arm and strode over to the stool. He sat down and waited impatiently as McGonagall lowered the sorting hat onto his head again, only to sigh and yank it up again just moments later when even before the hat touched his blonde head, it had shouted—

_"SLYTHERIN!" _

_This _time, the Slytherins burst into loud cheers and applause while everyone else around the room just rolled their eyes at the well-expected occurrence. Garrett smirked to himself in self-satisfaction before looking up and shooting his grinning twin a scowl again across the room.

Gabriel smiled at him and shrugged, cheering for him anyway and watching as his twin brother eventually sat himself down onto the Slytherin table between James and Baxter. His two friends welcomed the older Malfoy son by grinning knowingly and patting him on the back.

As the sorting eventually continued and more and more first years began to be sorted into their appropriate houses, including Penelope McConway in Slytherin, Annie Williams in Gryffindor, and Olivia Winchester in Ravenclaw – the Headmaster finally stood up and walked to the center of the Hall.

"_Welcome, welcome, welcome! _It gives me utmost pleasure today to come across – even in my _very _old age, I must add – some of the fresh new faces of our newest students this year! Now…Before anything else and before I leave you all to enjoy your scrumptious feast—"

His words unwittingly elicited a growl of agreement from Gabriel's stomach from where he was watching by the Gryffindor table, causing Daniel to smirk at him and Annie Williams – who had taken up the seat right across from Gabriel – to giggle to herself at his embarrassed, flushed expression.

"—I'd just like to discuss a few important matters with all of you today! First off…As everyone _SHOULD _know by now—" Dumbledore paused and took great care in shooting some of the Weasleys around the room a pointed look. "—the Forbidden Forest is _STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. _Hogsmeade visits are for third year above only…and Seventh years should prepare for their hunting season this year."

In the middle of Dumbledore's speech, Gabriel met Garrett's identical green eyes across the room and shot his brother an excited smile – which the other Malfoy son reluctantly returned. Eventually, both Malfoy sons turned back to the front of the room again and watched as the Headmaster began introducing the teachers one by one. Garrett and Gabriel both waved to Professor Snape and he gave them both a brief nod, otherwise offering no other form of acknowledgment.

"At last…Now that's over…As some of you may already know…Professor Thompson and Professor Moore will both be retiring this year…Instead, taking Professor Moore's place as your new Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw house…I'd like you all to welcome…Professor Longbottom!"

Gabriel nearly choked on his pumpkin juice in shock as he looked up and watched as Luna Lovegood Longbottom entered the hall from the front side entrance, pausing to give her proudly grinning son a wave before she sat down onto the teacher's table. Daniel laughed at the shocked expression on his best friend's face and reached out to help tap him several times on the back.

"Oh yeah…I forgot to tell you, Riel…My Mum's teaching Charms this year. It was very last minute…Dumbledore just sent the letter about two days ago and I never got to tell you since then." He grinned again and shrugged sheepishly when Gabriel just glared at him in mild annoyance.

"Yeah, well…A little heads-up would have been nice, Dan—"

Dumbledore smiled mischievously and silenced everyone by raising his hands again, gesturing for them to calm down. Once the students had resettled themselves, he looked over to the far right of the room, frowning slightly when Luna shot him a pointed look and shook her head several times.

"Oh…Oh I see…Seeing as…Unfortunately…Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor has yet to arrive, I shall continue on with the introductions later. For now…Everyone…Enjoy your feast! For tomorrow…Your classes begin!" He winked when the students answered him with several groans.

* * *

As soon as the Headmaster had sat back down and all the other students around them began to busy themselves with the food that was rapidly beginning to appear on the table, Garrett turned back to James beside him at the Slytherin table, a pointed smirk slowly forming on his face.

"My father says that Dumbledore is nothing but a raving old crackpot who knows nothing about running a school…" He drawled loudly, causing the other Slytherin first years around him to laugh in agreement at his words. Baxter Cunningham gave him a particularly amused grin and gestured over to something behind Garrett just by the Ravenclaw table beside them.

"Hey Malfoy…Looks like Winchester doesn't look particularly pleased to see you tonight. Did you do anything to upset her again…?" He sniggered when Garrett's sneer hardened and he turned around in his seat again, looking up and meeting Olivia Winchester's hateful snarl across the room.

The Ravenclaw snarled at him and pointedly turned to the girls beside her – obviously making it clear to Garrett that she was whispering something bad about _HIM. _Garrett's eyes narrowed at this and he gave her a mocking smile, arching a single elegant eyebrow up at her before he shouted loudly.

"What's the matter now, Winchester…?! Not enough food for you over there?! Here, you can have mine too…" He added further injury by lifting his plate of food up and holding it out toward her with a harsh laugh– immediately eliciting a sharp gasp of furious insult from Olivia's lips.

Her teeth clenched and her face flushed in humiliation, she ignored the loud boisterous laughter that was coming from the other Slytherin first years who had heard Garrett's comment and stood up from her seat, something held right in her hand. Garrett was too busy sniggering and giving James a series of high fives to notice this, however, and simply began to turn back to his dinner.

Just before he managed to look away, another round of laughter from the Ravenclaws suddenly interrupted him and he froze – turning his face back around in slight confusion.

"What the—"

_**SPLAT! **_

The Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw first years – and even some of the upper-year Slytherins – all burst out laughing, pointing and smirking at the sight of Garrett flushing dark red in humiliation as he tried to wipe off the smear of chocolate cake Olivia had whipped right at his face.

Beside him, James and Baxter were also falling over themselves with laughter and turned away so that Garrett couldn't see them – their shoulders still shaking in their mirth. His hands clenching tightly into fists at his anger, Garrett turned back around and met Olivia's haughty smile across the room, his green eyes flashing in warning at her as he gave her another sneer.

"This means _WAR, _Winchester…"

* * *

Gabriel was still laughing at the sight of his twin brother's face smeared all over with chocolate cake across the room when a soft voice called his attention from behind. Blinking in surprise, he turned slowly and was soon met with Annie Williams' curious, inquiring blue eyes at him.

She offered him a friendly smile, gesturing to his twin brother from where the older Malfoy son was currently locked in a furious shouting match with Olivia Winchester just right across the Hall. "You certainly seem to be completely different from your twin brother…Gabriel…? Was it…?"

Gabriel began blushing again under her friendly gaze but nodded and offered her a bright grin. "So we've been told…We're still close though…Me and Gar…He's my best friend _and _brother. Despite how much of a prick he can be…How about you…? Annie…? Any brothers or sisters?"

Annie blushed at his sudden question but shook her head and laughed. "I'm an only child…Which is my parents were really shocked _AND _thrilled when I received my Hogwarts acceptance letter. At first they thought it was some kind of joke…All of it just seems so unreal." Her voice trailed off when she noticed Gabriel's amused grin at her and she shook her head, looking back up at him.

"What about you, Gabriel…? Is your family purely magical…?"

He laughed and nodded, nudging Daniel sharply in the ribs next to him when his best friend began giving him teasing smirks. "Call me 'Riel', Annie…It's my nickname. And…Well… I suppose you could say that…My father comes from a long line of pureblood wizards while my mother is a half-blood. So I suppose that would mean that I'm…75% magical…? All technically speaking of course…I…Think?"

Annie giggled at his quip and nodded in understanding, beginning to blush again when she noticed that Daniel was looking back and forth between the two of them and making a face.

"Okay…Uhm. Riel. I—I see…W—well…Th—that is—"

She was interrupted when a rather loud voice spoke up from beside her, forcing her and Gabriel to turn to the right at the sight of Marissa Goldstein, a rather pretty fellow first-year, scoffing as she gave Annie a look as though she was the stupidest person she had ever beheld in her life.

"Are you _DAFT, _Williams?! That's Gabriel _MALFOY, _you're talking to! He belongs to one of the most prestigious pureblooded families in Europe! Are you honestly _THAT _clueless about the magical world and its customs…Ugh…" She ignored Annie's offended flush and turned back to Gabriel's shocked expression, holding her hand out to him and giving him a sweet, beautiful smile in greeting.

"_MY _name's Marissa, Gabriel…But you can call me Rissa for short. It's a real pleasure to meet you." She offered the Malfoy son another overly friendly smile, watching as Gabriel's cheeks colored at her attention and he nodded back, forced by his breeding to plant a kiss onto the back of her palm.

"The pleasure is _mine, _Rissa…Please call me Riel."

His response sounded automatic as he pulled away, managing to look up just in time to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a humiliated expression on Annie's face. He didn't get enough time to ponder on it, however, as their attention was drawn again by Dumbledore at the front of the Hall.

The Hogwarts Headmaster was up on his feet again and was now gesturing once more for the students to keep quiet, his light blue eyes twinkling once again in mischief. Nodding to where McGonagall was shooting him questioning looks, he turned back and gave the students a wink.

"Dear young students… It gives me great pride and honor to introduce tonight…Hogwarts' new DADA Professor…Returning for the first time since she graduated many years ago from Hogwarts…"

Gabriel met Garrett's equally confused expression across the Hall.

"—may I present…Professor Jaimee Potter _Malfoy!_"

Two pairs of startled green eyes widened comically in horror from two separate areas of the deathly silent Great Hall that night as the side doors near the Head Table blasted open again and revealed – without a doubt – the cloaked, grinning figure of none other than Jaimee Potter Malfoy.

The twins watched – completely stunned speechless and sputtering incoherently to themselves– as their strikingly beautiful mother walked right up to the Head Table amidst the loud applause and excited murmurs that had begun to spread like wildfire across the different House tables.

After giving Dumbledore a warm hug of greeting, Harry grinned again and made to walk over to her rightful seat beside Luna near the end of the table – only to cringe sheepishly to herself in embarrassment later when she had accidentally stubbed her foot onto Snape's chair and inadvertently tripped over him. Snape growled loudly when she caused him to spill his pumpkin juice down the front of his robes, eliciting several sounds of laughter from the other students who were watching the scene.

"_POTTER! YOU CLUMSY OAF! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" _

Still cringing and offering a seething Severus Snape a helpless shrug of apology, Harry held back a smile and settled herself down onto the chair beside Luna's helplessly laughing figure.

Dumbledore also chuckled at this, turning back to the students with a wide smile.

"Incidentally, Professor Malfoy will _ALSO _be taking on the new responsibility of being the new Head of Gryffindor House this year…So let's all give her another round of applause in welcome again."

Harry blushed slightly at all the attention but answered all their cheers with another nod and conspiratorial grin, her green eyes rapidly scourging the entire Hall for a sign of her two twin sons.

When she found them gaping back up at her with identical horrified looks – the two of them separated into far, opposite corners of the room into Gryffindor and Slytherin – her smile widened and she shook her head in amusement. She inwardly reminded herself to tell Draco later that he had lost their 'bet' when she got back home before looking back up to peer curiously at her two sons again.

Her amusement soon faded, however, when she caught sight of Garrett and at once, she glared menacingly at him. Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the fact that her older son seemed to have paused right in the act of punching one of his fellow housemates right on the face.

Sensing his mother's angry glare at him, Garrett's eyes widened even more and his fisted hand lowered automatically. Gulping, he turned and promptly met Gabriel's face across the hall again.

The twins didn't have to be near one another to realize that they were thinking the same thing.

"OH…_BLOODY_…HELL…"

* * *

**A/N: **And…………………………………………………………………………………We're _DONE! _We're finally _REALLY…DONE!_

*runs hastily back to her room and collapses into a crying, rumpled heap of tears onto her bed*

Please don't ask me how old Dumbledore would be by this time already. I don't know either. X_X I just couldn't write Hogwarts without him! *giggle* Oh and Hale is eventually sorted into _Ravenclaw _in the future if any of you are curious. *grins* :D

Sweet Merlin, I can't believe I've finally finished this story! It seems like only _YESTERDAY_ that I was starting on it and planning out the would-be plots and twists in my head…*Sigh*…But alas…My dear, loyal readers…Our journey together with Draco and Jaimee and the rest of our beloved Malfoy family must finally come to an end…*Tears begin to fill her eyes again*

But don't worry! You'll definitely _STILL _be seeing a lot of me again, I promise! Although I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing… *cringes to herself* I will be starting on **Phoenix Tears **pretty soon and for those of you who don't know, it's another DM/femHP fic…Although much darker and not nearly as happy-happy as this one. Still…I hope you give it a chance! You might like it! :D As of the moment, I am STILL undecided if I will write ficlets about the twins…I'll keep posting updates on my profiles if ever I decide to write one so you can all just check every now and then if you'd like. ;)

I'd just like to say…**A BIG...WARM…HUG…AND SWEET CUDDLES AND KISSES** to EVERYONE who stuck with me through this story and to those who kept reviewing and helping me out! Thank you so much for all the comments, suggestions, support and encouragement! You all have my deepest gratitude and I love you all SO MUCH for being such great readers of this series! I am not joking when I say that I could _NOT _have finished these series without you! So warm hugs and kisses to all! :D

So since it's the last time for this series…I implore everybody to please **LEAVE ME ONE LAST REVIEW AND TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ALRIGHT? MWAH! THANKS TO EVERYONE AGAIN!**

This is **slytherin-nette**…Signing out. Lots of love, everyone! Cheers! :D


	22. Guide: NextGen Characters

**A/N: **To all those who might be confused with the new second generation characters I mentioned in the epilogue, here you go! :D

**Draco Malfoy and Jaimee/Harry Potter**

Garrett Malfoy (11)

Gabriel Malfoy (11)

Hailene Malfoy (9)

**Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood**

Daniel Longbottom (11)

**Sirius Black and Regina Vallehan**

Keira Black(20)

James Black (12)

**Blaise Zabini and Hermione Granger**

Elliot Zabini (13)

Virginia Zabini (9)

**Ron Weasley and Lorraine Malfoy**

Francesca Weasley (13)

Natalie Weasley (9)

**Anton Malfoy and Ginny Weasley**

Aidan Malfoy (9)

**Reggie Malfoy and Helena McKinsey**

Angelica Malfoy (12)

**William Malfoy and Annabelle Valentine**

Tristan Malfoy (12)

**Oswald Cunningham and Pansy Parkinson**

Baxter Cunningham (13)

Valerie Cunningham (9)

**Philippe Winchester and Elisa Cartwright**

Olivia Winchester (11)

**Marcus Princeton and Alexandra Malfoy**

Cherry-Lyn Princeton (17)

**Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour**

Victoire Weasley (13)

**Anthony Goldstein and Parvati Patil**

Marissa Goldstein (11)

**Lucian McConway and Marietta Edgecombe**

Penelope McConway (11)


End file.
